Why THAT Fake Donald Trump Christmas Card Has Gone Viral

A fake Christmas card featuring Donald Trump has been widely shared across social media, including on Twitter and Facebook.

The card shows a black and white image of the former president in a tuxedo, superimposed against a snowy backdrop of pine trees. Above his head, Santa's airborne sleigh and reindeer have been strategically positioned to look like ejaculate.

The fabricated card signed with "President Donald J. Trump" says "Merry Christmas" above another line that reads "From The Winter White House December 2021."

A spokesperson for Trump, Liz Harrington (who regularly posts official statements from Trump) told Reuters the card is "fake and did not come from us."

Trump's official website has also not posted the edited Christmas card.

Where Did the Fake Trump Christmas Card Come From?

It's unknown exactly where and how the edited card was first shared, but it has duped several users on Twitter, including Grant Stern, an author and editor, who claimed the image was trending on Twitter at some point.

According to Stern, he shared the image in a tweet on December 6, saying: "No, this is not a parody. Yes, you're seeing what I'm seeing. Absolutely it is hilarious. #mondaythoughts."

Sharing a screenshot of that tweet, Stern wrote in a later post: "I got punked by a Twitter trend :-) So, to stop the trend, I deleted this tweet. With apologies was a parody."

The user explained in another post on Twitter: "It was trending, and for years now, I've been led to believe Twitter monitors these things on a basic level with people nowadays before they get shown. Consider me surprised."

It's unclear from where the image of Trump seen in the fake card was taken. But the image of Trump in the tuxedo appears nearly identical to one of him wearing the same attire while visiting Queen Elizabeth II in the U.K. back in June 2019, as captured by Reuters and Getty Images.

Fake Trump Christmas Card Goes Viral

The fabricated card has been widely shared on social media, with several Twitter users pointing out the image is clearly fake.

CNN reporter Daniel Dale tweeted the altered image, along with Stern's initial tweet, noting: "Some anti-Trump accounts are sharing a fake Trump Christmas card and explicitly insisting it's real." The post had over 7,000 likes since at the time of reporting.

Sharing a screenshot of the edited card, user @VABVOX tweeted: "Oh where to begin with this monstrosity?

"Trump is not president, Mar-a-Lago was never the WH, Trump has Ivanka before Melania in the ornament line up , Where's Barron?. Look at the white front of Trump's tux. Why does Santa & reindeer look like ejaculate from a big penis," the user added. The post had at least 10,600 likes at the time of reporting.

In a later tweet, the same user wrote: "Folks are more upset over some of us having fun with a fake Trump Christmas card than they are with Trump still playing fake president and 70% of Republicans going along with it. Just saying." The post had over 700 likes at the time of publishing.

Writer Parker Molloy tweeted: "I genuinely cannot believe how many people are sharing a fake Trump Christmas card without questioning it. *sigh*." The tweet received nearly 1,000 likes.

User @covie_93 wrote: "The trump christmas card is fake, but it's insane enough that many people thought it was real." The tweet has received nearly 800 likes since it was shared.

Newsweek has contacted Trump and Twitter for comment.