President Donald Trump posted a side-by-side image on Truth Social, attempting to mock former president Barack Obama, but the move exploded in his face. The image juxtaposes a young Trump in military attire from New York Military Academy with a college-aged Obama, captured by photographer Lisa Jack, looking relaxed with a cigarette and Panama hat.
Online reactions quickly highlighted the stark contrasts between the two figures, but not in the way Trump intended. Liberal commentator Adam Mockler noted that Obama was “aura mogging” Trump, suggesting Obama's cool demeanor overshadowed Trump's military pose.
Former Obama aide Tommy Vietor questioned the intent behind the post, stating, “One guy looks like a good hang while the other looks like he would’ve been fragged by his unit in Vietnam (if he hadn’t gotten five deferments).”
Confusion arose over the ages labeled in the images. They read “D. Trump, 20” and “B. H. Obama, 18,” but Trump's photo was actually from his 1964 yearbook when he was 17 or 18 years old.
Mary Trump, the president's niece, pointed out the discrepancy on X, stating, “This is a picture of Donald when he was a teenager in high school. You’d think he’d know that.”
While Trump's loyal supporters rallied around the post, many criticized it for misleadingly suggesting he had military experience. One user on X remarked, “Interesting to post that knowing he’s a draft dodger,” referencing Trump's multiple college deferments and a medical exemption for bone spurs during the Vietnam War.
Former Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) chimed in with frustration, declaring, “For the love of GOD, Trump was not in the military FFS.”
Trump has a notorious history of attacking Obama. In a recent podcast episode of “All The Smoke,” Obama addressed Trump's fixation on him, calling it “strange.”
Obama remarked, “The idea that I’d be worrying about somebody who came before and me trying to measure like, ‘What’s he done today?’ Look, constantly worrying about that is a strange thing to me. It shows me somebody who is not focused on the American people and the job they’re supposed to do.”
