May 4th, known globally as Star Wars Day, didn’t pass quietly — especially not at the hands of Donald Trump and his administration.
To mark the occasion, the Department of Defense released a five-minute Star Wars-themed video highlighting recent military achievements. But it wasn’t the video that stole the spotlight. Instead, a striking and surreal image shared by the White House quickly dominated online conversation.
A Galaxy of Reactions
The image, clearly computer-generated, featured a hyper-muscular, lightsaber-wielding Trump standing heroically before a backdrop of American flags and two bald eagles. The scene was dramatic, exaggerated, and unmistakably styled after Star Wars aesthetics.
Accompanying the image was a message that read:
“Happy May the 4th to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to bring Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, & well-known MS-13 Gang Members, back into our Galaxy. You’re not the Rebellion – you’re the Empire. May the 4th be with you.”
The post triggered a wave of reactions, many expressing disbelief that such a stylized, provocative image came from the official White House account. Critics likened it to something generated by amateur AI users on social media.
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| a.scalzo_ / Instagram: @whitehouse |
But what drew the most attention — and criticism — was the color of Trump’s lightsaber: red.
The Red Lightsaber Controversy
In the Star Wars universe, red lightsabers are the trademark weapon of the Sith — the villains. As George Lucas himself once explained, “Good guys are green and blue, bad guys are red.” So, in a post that claimed Trump as the hero fighting the "Empire," giving him a red lightsaber seemed like an ironic misstep.
Social media users were quick to call out the contradiction.
“The lack of self-awareness and hypocrisy by calling the left ‘the empire’ while showing Trump with a Sith lightsaber,” one user on X noted.
Some attempted to justify the red saber as a nod to the Republican Party’s color. But Star Wars canon includes multiple saber colors without negative implications — green, yellow, purple — none of which are associated with the Democratic blue. In that context, the choice of red felt like a tone-deaf blunder.
Not the First AI Controversy
This isn’t the first time the White House has stirred controversy with AI-generated imagery. A previous post showed Trump dressed as the Pope — an image many criticized as offensive, particularly given the recent passing of Pope Francis.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 3, 2025
When questioned about the Pope image, Trump said he only saw it the night before and that his wife, Melania, thought it was “cute.” He distanced himself from its creation and dismissed critics as humorless.
“People need to lighten up. It’s a joke,” he said from the Oval Office.
Whether intentional satire or political theater gone wrong, the May the 4th image has once again sparked debate — not just about politics, but about the fine line between parody, propaganda, and self-parody.
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