Former President Donald Trump recently shared an advertisement for Fannie Mae that featured an AI-generated voice mimicking his own. The ad, initially posted by Housing Director Bill Pulte in January, describes the enterprise as the "protector of the American Dream" and Trump as potentially as the "greatest housing president in history."
The voice, which sounds like Trump, states in the advertisement, "America was built one home at a time, I believe that because the American Dream was never just an idea. It was a front door, a set of keys, a place where families built their future." It continues, "For generations, homeownership meant security, independence and stability, but today, that dream feels out of reach for too many Americans. Not because they’ve stopped working hard, but because the system stopped working for them."
The video concludes with a clip of Trump and text identifying Fannie Mae as one of "The Great American Mortgage Corporations."
When Trump shared the ad on his X account, a disclaimer at the bottom stated, "The audio of President Trump is AI generated and used with permission." However, this disclaimer was not present when he posted the same video on his Truth Social platform.
It remains unclear which company or AI tool generated the audio and whether the Trump campaign has approved its use in advertisements or videos beyond this specific Fannie Mae promotion. The White House has been contacted for comment.
Trump has previously expressed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, recounting in 2024 how an AI tool once improved one of his speeches so significantly that he intended to deliver it.
A White House spokesperson, Davis Ingle, described Trump's platform as "the most powerful and popular" because it functions as Trump's "authentic voice."