Fact Check: Is Trump using a Ken Carson-style image of himself as his iPhone wallpaper?

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump's critics just went full CSI on his iPhone, this time for allegedly rocking a Ken Carson themed version of himself on his wallpaper.

A picture posted by House Speaker Mike Johnson while flying with Trump to Arizona for Charlie Kirk’s memorial is making waves online—not for the somber occasion, but for the president’s phone screens.

Viral Trump snap sparks a thousand memes

On September 21, Johnson uploaded a snap of himself with Trump on their way to Kirk’s service.

“AF1 is en route to AZ for the Charlie Kirk Memorial. In spite of our deep sorrow, we will celebrate the life and legacy of our dear friend today," the Speaker captioned it.

However, X users weren’t looking at the caption. Their eyes zoomed right in on Trump’s two phones resting on the table.

While you couldn’t see the notifications, you could make out the wallpapers. Both screens appeared to feature Trump himself. One was a familiar image of his face draped in an American flag. The other one was unclear.

Regardless, popular X account @DailyNoud told its 200k-plus followers that one of Trump’s wallpapers looked suspiciously like rapper Ken Carson’s 'A Great Chaos' album cover. It was a black-and-white shot with grills. That post went viral and garnered over 150,000 likes.

“He wants to be black so bad,” one critic joked.

“Imagine trusting someone with nukes when they got this wallpaper,” another cracked.

“We really live in a simulation,” someone else sighed.

Fact Check: False

It's worth noting that the the whole thing is unfounded. The wallpaper was unreliable and most likely edited.

@DailyNoud admits in its bio it’s a parody account that makes up fake news for fun. Furthermore, no credible outlet has confirmed the “Ken Carson wallpaper” theory and a deep dive on Google search turns up zilch.

Trump's phone habits

Trump’s phone use, however, is rather interesting. Back in June, The Atlantic painted a worrying picture of a 79-year-old who treats unknown callers like scratch-off lottery tickets.

“Trump likes to call people. He likes to be called,” the mag wrote. “Unknown numbers come with a thrill akin to putting a coin in a gumball machine and waiting to see which flavor rolls out.”

That thrill has backfired before. In 2018, a comedian duped him by pretending to be Sen Bob Menendez. In 2020, he got tricked again by a fake Piers Morgan. More recently, pranksters have even faked being his own chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

The Atlantic also insisted that Trump’s love for his devices comes with major security risks.

It's not just calls. Trump's posting habits are also noteworthy. In June, The Washington Post clocked 2,262 posts in just 132 days, including one where he reposted the wild conspiracy that Joe Biden had been executed and replaced by a doppelganger.

The White House, however, defended him. A spokesperson told the Post, “President Trump is the most transparent president in history and is meeting the American people where they are.”

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.