Trump Really Believes His Fake ‘MS-13 Tattoo’ Photo Is Real

ABC News aired an interrogation with Donald Trump connected Tuesday nighttime focused connected the archetypal 100 days of the president’s 2nd term. The interrogation was filled with the benignant of fascist nonsense we’ve travel to expect from the astir unhinged U.S. president of the modern era. But determination was 1 portion of the interrogation that was genuinely enlightening. Trump seems to genuinely judge a photoshopped representation helium shared earlier this period connected societal media was authentic.

First, the backstory. President Trump posted a photograph of himself connected Truth Social connected April 18, wherever helium tin beryllium seen holding up a portion of insubstantial with the words “Kilmar Abrego Garcia MS-13 Tattoo.” Abrego Garcia is the antheral who was wrongly deported to an El Salvador prison, though Trump insists that helium deserves to beryllium determination due to the fact that he’s affiliated with the pack MS-13. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Trump indispensable instrumentality Abrego Garcia, but he’s refused to inquire the president of El Salvador to bash that.

As you tin spot from the image, which we’ve zoomed successful connected below, the characters M, S, 1, and 3 person been digitally added to the photograph Trump is holding. The designs tattooed connected the knuckles are existent and look to amusement a marijuana leaf, a smiley face, a cross, and a skull. There are besides words beneath each plan that are digitally added.

President Donald Trump holds up a digitally altered photograph of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s manus successful an representation posted to Truth Social connected April 18, 2025. Image: Truth Social / Donald Trump

How bash we cognize the representation has been digitally altered? Aside from the information that it’s beauteous evident to anyone who has spent immoderate clip connected societal media and tin spot with their eyes, determination are besides caller photos of Abrego Garcia wherever the characters “MS-13” don’t look connected his hand.

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, shared a photograph of Abrego Garcia connected X connected April 17 from the gathering betwixt Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Abrego Garcia. Van Hollen had traveled to El Salvador and was initially blocked from seeing him earlier being allowed a little meeting.

Close-up of a photograph shared by Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele connected April 17, 2025, showing the manus of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Image: Twitter / Nayib Bukele

The representation from Van Hollen’s gathering with Abrego Garcia becomes beauteous pixelated erstwhile you stroke it up, but it’s wide capable that anyone tin spot there’s nary “MS-13” there. Other images posted by the New York Post corroborate the MS-13 simply isn’t here. But Trump revealed connected Tuesday that helium truly believes the photograph helium was holding up successful that Truth Social photograph was authentic.

Trump brought up the MS-13 tattoo unprompted successful the ABC News interrogation that aired Tuesday claiming, “And you’ll prime retired 1 man, but adjacent the antheral that you picked out, helium said helium wasn’t a subordinate of a gang, and past they looked, and connected his knuckles, helium had MS-13.”

But Terry Moran, the writer who interviewed Trump, pushed backmost connected the president’s assertion that it was real, archetypal saying, “there’s a quality connected that.”

Trump: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. He had MS-13 connected his knuckles tattooed.

Moran: Well, helium had immoderate tattoos that are interpreted that way, but let’s determination on.

Trump: Wait a minute. Terry, Terry.

Moran: He did not person the missive MS-13.

Trump: It says MS-13.

Moran: That was Photoshop.

Trump: That was Photoshop?

Trump past insisted helium was giving Moran “the interruption of a lifetime” by granting him an interview, past whined that the writer “wasn’t being precise nice.”

Trump: He had MS-13 tattooed…

Moran: We’ll hold to disagree. I privation to determination connected to thing else.

Trump: Terry, Terry, bash you privation maine to amusement you the picture?

Moran: I saw the picture. We’ll hold to disagree.

Trump: And you deliberation it was photoshopped.

Trump: Don’t photoshop it. Go look astatine his hand. He had MS-13.

Moran: He did person tattoos that tin beryllium interpreted that way. I’m not an adept connected them. I privation to crook to Ukraine. I privation to get to Ukraine.

It’s not wide if Trump knows what Photoshop is, and Moran didn’t inquire him that precise straightforward question, adjacent aft the president said nonsensically, “don’t photoshop it.” Moran kept trying to determination connected to thing other for immoderate reason, but Trump kept insisting that the images were real.

Trump: No, no, Terry. He had MS arsenic wide arsenic you tin be, not interpreted. This is wherefore radical nary longer judge the quality due to the fact that it’s fake news.

Moran: When helium was photographed successful El Salvador, they aren’t there. But let’s conscionable spell on. They aren’t determination erstwhile he’s successful El Salvador.

Trump: They weren’t there, but they’re determination now, right?

Moran: No, but they’re successful your picture.

Trump: Terry.

Moran: Ukraine, sir.

Trump: He’s got MS-13 connected his knuckles.

Moran: Alright, okay. We’ll instrumentality a look.

Trump: You bash specified a disservice.

Moran: We’ll instrumentality a look astatine that, sir.

Trump: Why don’t you conscionable accidental yes, helium does, and spell connected to thing else?

Moran: It’s contested.

It’s genuinely a chaotic speech worthy watching for yourself. And it’s alternatively bizarre that Moran kept trying to determination disconnected the taxable arsenic Trump kept proving he’ll judge conscionable astir immoderate fake representation enactment successful beforehand of him. Moran could person asked who gave him that printout. Was it his elder advisor Stephen Miller, the heinous fascist who’s reportedly helped thrust Trump’s astir draconian and racist policies? We whitethorn ne'er know, since Moran didn’t instrumentality this accidental to ask.

It tin beryllium hard to archer erstwhile Trump is lying versus erstwhile he’s conscionable being a implicit idiot. But Tuesday’s interrogation made it wide that Trump truly does judge this one. It seems much apt that Trump wouldn’t dwell connected it if helium knew helium was lying astir thing similar this. But who knows for sure?

Whatever Trump’s existent mindset here, the representation is fake, and helium should cognize that arsenic the astir almighty idiosyncratic successful the country. This feline has tens of thousands of radical whose occupation is to cod quality from astir the satellite to marque definite he’s the astir well-informed idiosyncratic connected the planet. But helium often proves himself to beryllium 1 of the dumbest.

Trumpworld is beauteous acquainted with altering images to suit the needs of his agenda. Trump famously altered a hurricane map with a achromatic Sharpie successful 2019 to bring the forecast successful enactment with thing he’d said previously. And successful precocious 2018 and aboriginal 2019, Trump’s societal media accounts posted astatine slightest three images of Trump that had been photoshopped to marque him look thinner and his fingers longer. It’s not wide if Trump himself ordered those images to beryllium changed, but it speaks to the benignant of upside-down satellite of insecurity that MAGA creates.

An animated GIF showing the quality betwixt a photoshopped representation of Donald Trump successful 2018 and the existent image. GIF: Gizmodo / Facebook / Donald Trump

But fascist lies don’t ever instrumentality the signifier of integer manipulation. El Salvador’s President Bukele tried his ain benignant of in-person hoax by bringing retired “margaritas” erstwhile Sen. Van Hollen met with Abrego Garcia. Bukele was intelligibly trying to marque it look similar Abrego Garcia was surviving it up successful an land paradise contempt the information that helium had been surviving successful CECOT, a notorious situation filled with torture and enslaved labor.

Trump has defied a Supreme Court bid and refuses to bring Abrego Garcia backmost to the U.S., which means this state is presently experiencing a law situation that galore radical person yet to acknowledge. Trump told Moran that helium “could” bring backmost Abrego Garcia if helium wanted. But he’s not going to bash that. And portion that’s incredibly frustrating, astatine slightest we learned thing from Tuesday’s interview. Trump isn’t ever knowingly lying. Sometimes he’s conscionable a credulous dolt.