‘Trump hired Putin for his decorator’: President mocked over White House golden eagle picture

President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of a golden bald eagle on a White House balcony, claiming it was a gift for the building's 250th birthday, but the image contained errors including only 11 stars instead of 13. The post was widely mocked on social media, with critics comparing it to Russian iconography and noting that 2026 is not the White House's 250th anniversary.

‘Trump hired Putin for his decorator’: President mocked over White House golden eagle picture The president described the image as a ‘golden gift’ but the post, suspected to be AI-generated, has a number of glaring errors - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments President Donald Trump /topic/donald-trump has posted what appears to be an AI-generated image of a bald eagle /topic/bald-eagle cast in gold and bearing a stars-and-stripes crest fixed to a balcony of the White House /topic/white-house . “A Golden Gift to the White House for its 250th Birthday Year ” the president wrote as he posted the image on Truth Social late Monday. However the crest features only 11 stars, instead of the 13 traditionally used to represent the original 13 colonies and CNN notes https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/29/politics/trump-ai-generated-eagle-truman-balcony the image’s metadata suggests it was made using Google’s AI tools. Freelance press photographer Andrew Leyden posted two photographs https://x.com/PenguinSix/status/2071767659453034789 on X showing the front of the White House shortly after Trump’s post with no such crest in place. The “gift” post was met with derision on social media, variously describing it as “tacky” and drawing comparisons with Russian iconography. “Trump’s hired Vladimir Putin as his decorator,” playwright Paul Rudnick said https://x.com/PaulRudnickNY/status/2071765174554353768 on X, likening it to the double-headed eagle appearing on the coat of arms of the Russian Federation. Former GOP congressman turned Trump critic Adam Kinzinger simply shared the picture the caption “gross” while commentator Jo Carducci branded it as “tacky”. Others pointed out that 2026 is not actually the 250th birthday of the People’s House https://x.com/AnthonyMKreis/status/2071753623445409930 . Construction began on the White House on October 13, 1792, 16 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment. Should the golden eagle actually appear on the balcony, it would be just the latest addition made to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that demonstrate Trump’s famous enthusiasm for the precious metal. Since returning to the White House last year, the president has made over the Oval Office /news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-oval-office-white-house-decoration-b2716688.html gold trinkets, including “new gold vermeil figurines on the mantle and medallions on the fireplace, gold eagles on the side tables, gilded Rococo mirrors on the doors”, CNN reported at the time. Trump was also gifted a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy, in advance of the U.S. co-hosting the tournament this summer. More recently, Trump has turned his attention towards “beautifying” other national monuments around Washington, D.C., with the clean-up of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool proving a particularly troubled project /news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-reflecting-pool-algae-technology-b3005166.html . Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments comments-area