The Trump administration drew a wave of mockery after posting an AI-generated image that some social media users claimed featured characters bearing an uncanny resemblance to Jeffrey Epstein and Hillary Clinton.
On Wednesday, the Department of Education shared a Mario Kart–style promotional graphic supposedly depicting President Donald Trump, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy tearing around a racecourse in Washington, D.C.
The image was meant to promote the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, an IndyCar series event scheduled for the National Mall this weekend as part of the nation’s 250th-birthday festivities. “Stay tuned for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix THIS WEEKEND,” the caption states.
Instead, the Grok Imagine-generated image swiftly became less about the upcoming race than the cast of characters viewers believed they spotted in it.
Across social media, the post racked up millions of views and thousands of comments, many circling the same observation: Jeffrey Epstein and Hillary Clinton appeared to have somehow made their way into the cartoon graphic.
open image in gallery“Why is trump racing Hillary Clinton and Jeffery Epstein,” one X user wrote, while another chimed in: “Donald playing with his dawgs Hillary and Jeffrey Epstein.”
“Putting epstein there for the love of the game is crazy,” wrote a third user.
Another wrote: “The government is posting Nintendo AI pictures with Jeffrey Epstein in them now whatever man.”
Facebook commenters were no less perplexed.
“I’m sorry WHY IS HE THERE?” questioned one user, while another allowed that artificial intelligence may have been the culprit: “Did the ai put epstein in there by itself.”
Even Democratic lawmakers joined the pile-on. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee reposted the image and riffed on a meme-able line from The Bourne Ultimatum: “Jesus Christ, that’s Jeffrey Epstein.”
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open image in galleryThe details embedded in the image make clear that the Education Department meant to depict McMahon and Duffy, not Clinton, the president’s 2016 rival, and Epstein, a deceased sex offender whose ties to the president have remained an enduring source of controversy during Trump’s second term.
The woman to Trump’s right is riding a motorcycle emblazoned with “ED,” an apparent reference to the Education Department. The man to his left, meanwhile, is seated in a kart bearing the Transportation Department’s logo.
open image in galleryOne X user suggested that McMahon and Duffy’s comparatively low public profiles may have been at the root of the mix-up.
“The other two people in this do not have a significant enough public profile so now it just looks like he’s playing Mario Kart with his old pals Epstein and Hillary Clinton,” the user wrote.
When asked by The Independent to identify the figures in the image, Perplexity identified them as Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Gemini, meanwhile, identified Donald Trump alongside Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.
open image in galleryThe Independent has contacted the Education Department for comment.
Jeffrey Epstein was a financier and convicted sex offender who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution. In 2019, federal prosecutors charged him with trafficking minors. He died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 before trial, leaving many questions unresolved.
The Justice Department’s recent release of millions of Epstein-related records has renewed scrutiny of his ties to powerful figures, including Trump, who has not been accused of wrongdoing and says he cut ties with Epstein years ago.