FACT CHECK: Image Claims To Show Donald Trump, Artist And Painting Of Melania Trump
An image shared on X claims to show former President Donald Trump posing with a painting of his wife, Melania Trump.
It was an honor to give President Trump my latest artwork of our beautiful first lady Melania, and I hope it brings him as much joy on his bedroom walls as it did ours! pic.twitter.com/pyjhWDjZlo
— Gary Peterson 🇺🇸 (@GaryPetersonUSA) April 30, 2024
Verdict: Misleading
The image has been altered from the original. The account that posted the image appears to be satirical.
Fact Check:
Social media users are sharing an image of Trump holding a painting of his wife with a dour look on his face. The account who originally posted the image, Gary Peterson, claims it shows him and Trump with his artwork.
“It was an honor to give President Trump my latest artwork of our beautiful first lady Melania, and I hope it brings him as much joy on his bedroom walls as it did ours!” Peterson tweeted. (RELATED: Image Does Not Show Recent Tehran Explosion)
The image has been altered from the original. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the original image was first posted to X by another person, who appears to be the original artist.
I made this painting “The First Lady has Landed” 4 years ago that went viral. It was an honor for me to personally gift it to President Trump at a J6er event that was hosted by @realpfp at Trump’s Golf Club House in Bedminster NJ, 6/22/23. Trump loved it, hope you do too. pic.twitter.com/GV5yPXOxpV
— Al Manica (@ManicaAlan) December 10, 2023
“I made this painting ‘The First Lady has Landed’ 4 years ago that went viral. It was an honor for me to personally gift it to President Trump at a J6er event that was hosted by @realpfp at Trump’s Golf Club House in Bedminster NJ, 6/22/23. Trump loved it, hope you do too,” Manica tweeted.
The original image shows Melania Trump with sunglasses, while the former president is smiling. The original image shows a man that does not match the man in the X image.
Peterson also appears to be a parody or satirical account. Several posts from Peterson are clearly exaggerated, showing that the account is likely not supposed to be taken seriously or at face value.