President Donald Trump spent months pushing the federal government to release long-secret UFO files, talking up mysterious disclosures, extraterrestrial questions, and hidden information that he suggested past administrations kept from the public.
So when he suddenly posted an AI-generated image of himself escorting a shackled alien alongside Secret Service agents, critics once again invoked the 25th Amendment and questioned whether the president is mentally fit for office, as he keeps pushing the boundaries of the presidency into outright absurdity during his second term.
The post quickly triggered a wave of mockery that pointed to Trump’s broader pattern of inappropriate behavior on social media. The uproar also revived scrutiny over Trump’s recent push to publicize government UFO files, a campaign that has mixed legitimate public curiosity with surreal political messaging.
The AI-generated image showed Trump walking beside a handcuffed alien figure while armed personnel surrounded them on what appeared to be an Army installation. The image spread rapidly across social media, with many arguing the visual didn’t reflect the seriousness expected of a commander in chief.
Gavin Newsom’s press office reposted the image on X and wrote: “The President of the United States just posted this. Do you think he’s lost it?”
Others reacted with sharper criticism as the image circulated widely online.
“Trump uploaded an AI image of him walking with an alien surrounded by the military and secret service. I don’t know what to say anymore. 25th Amendment NOW”
“The entire world is laughing at us,” another added.
“Nobody didn’t get him out of office‽‽ This presidency is getting ridiculous!”
Even some Trump supporters appeared unsure of what to make of the post.
“President Trump just posted this still on Truth Social. Trump walking alongside a handcuffed alien at a military base, escorted by agents and military personnel. He always knows how to keep it interesting. What do you think he’s signaling?”
The controversy arrived as Trump has increasingly promoted government transparency efforts involving unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, the term now favored by federal agencies instead of UFOs. The Pentagon recently began releasing what officials described as “never-before-seen” government files tied to decades of unexplained sightings, military encounters, and astronaut accounts involving strange aerial phenomena.
The document release followed comments Trump made earlier this year promising that “very interesting documents” would soon become public. The Pentagon later launched a government website dedicated to the files, saying Americans could now access declassified UAP materials without security clearances.
According to NBC, the files themselves contained no evidence that extraterrestrial beings have visited Earth or that the federal government has secretly communicated with aliens. Instead, the records included military reports, astronaut recollections, witness interviews, infrared videos, and unresolved sightings dating back to the 1940s.
Among the material were references to incidents involving the Apollo moon missions. During a 1969 debriefing tied to Apollo 11, astronaut Buzz Aldrin described seeing “little flashes inside the cabin” while attempting to sleep. Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean reported “flashes of light” moving through space, while Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt described distant lights that looked “like the Fourth of July.”
The government’s disclosure effort accelerated after Trump announced in February that he had directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials to review documents tied to “alien and extraterrestrial life.” The move came shortly after former President Barack Obama discussed the possibility of extraterrestrial life during a podcast appearance. Obama later clarified he had not seen evidence of aliens while in office and meant only that the odds favored life existing somewhere in the universe.
