Trump Posts Doctored Image That Makes Adviser Look Like Younger Woman

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

President Donald Trump posted a doctored photo of himself with Chinese President Xi Jinping in which one of Trump’s diplomatic advisers got a makeover, among other alterations to the image.

Trump greeted Xi upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, in what was the first time a U.S. president has met a world leader there who was not the pope since 1962. Xi even got the red carpet treatment.

Xi is set to attend a White House state dinner on Thursday evening, where the president is expected to speak with his Chinese counterpart about AI, fentanyl, and the looming expiration of a tariff truce in January.

Early Thursday morning, Trump posted an image of him and Xi at Joint Base Andrews shortly after the latter disembarked. The photo in question was taken by Getty photographer Brendan Smialowski.

Donald Trump/Truth Social

At first glance, the only alteration to the image seems to be the addition of the words “Only Trump” and some decorative stars above the two leaders’ heads. But a comparison to the original reveals a couple of other minor differences, as well as one that is downright bizarre.

In Trump’s version of the photo, which crops out U.S. and Chinese soldiers flanking the two men, Trump salutes with his gloved right hand while maintaining an expressionless face. However, he is not wearing a glove on his left hand.

In the actual Getty photo, Trump is wearing gloves on both hands and, unlike his version, he is wincing. Video of the moment shows Trump wincing as a military plane (pictured) flew overhead.

Getty Images

But the weirdest change is a blonde woman who appears in both the original image and the altered one. The original Getty photo shows Monica Crowley, the U.S. Chief of Protocol who advises the president on diplomatic procedure. A closer look at the image Trump posted shows that the 58-year-old adviser has been transformed into a younger woman who does not look like Crowley at all. And unlike Crowley, the young woman’s hair is not blowing in her face.

Independent journalist Aaron Rupar speculated that someone on Trump’s team had Crowley altered to look like Natalie Harp, the executive assistant to the president, known for writing Trump over-the-top letters of devotion.

So this story is WAY wilder than I thought

The Trump post I flagged this morning because it includes Natalie Harp is actually based on the Getty photo you can see below. But there is one key difference — MONICA CROWLEY’S FACE HAS BEEN EDITED TO LOOK LIKE NATALIE HARP’S

WTF is going on here?

[image or embed]

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) September 24, 2026 at 10:06 AM

“MONICA CROWLEY’S FACE HAS BEEN EDITED TO LOOK LIKE NATALIE HARP’S,” Rupar posted on Bluesky.

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