Former President Donald Trump has made even some MAGA supporters uncomfortable with his conspiracy theory that Vice President Kamala Harris' rally crowds are generated by artificial intelligence models. And there's a deep irony in him using this theory in particular, wrote Ja'han Jones for MSNBC's ReidOut Blog.
Specifically, Trump is accusing Harris of doing what his own supporters have constantly done to her.
"It's ... ironic that Trump is claiming that Harris is sharing A.I.-generated images for political gain when he and his followers have done that," he wrote. "In one example, he used his social media platform to share an image that appeared to depict him praying in a church, only for the image to be called out as fake after people noticed he had six fingers on both hands. And Trump’s followers have shared other A.I.-generated images depicting him around Black people to give the impression he’s popular among Black folks."
On the flip side, some Trump supporters have circulated A.I.-generated images of Harris prowling the streets as an escort, complete with fake stories about how she traded sexual favors for advancement through San Francisco politics.
When it comes to the idea Harris used A.I. to inflate her crowd sizes, Jones noted, this is baseless.
"Harris drew thousands of people to her Detroit rally, as NBC News reported. And while Trump said there was 'nobody at the plane' when she arrived, you can see her being greeted by a large crowd as she steps off her plane in footage captured by NBC News. You can also see an image of her plane being welcomed by a large crowd here. And a Getty photographer confirmed the large crowd to The Daily Beast."
Nevertheless, Jones wrote, this is part of a "pattern of accusing other people of doing things he has done." And even worse, he concluded, "If he can convince his supporters that the photographs are fake, it's a short step to convincing them that any votes for her in November are bogus, too."
