Trump Mistook a PowerPoint Font for a Gang Tattoo
This isn’t a satire headline. Donald Trump truly believed that bold digital letters typed over a photo were actual gang tattoos. And he used that belief to justify deporting a man whose life was in danger.
Donald Trump said on live television that Kilmar Abrego García had “MS-13” tattooed across his fingers. He claimed this as proof that the man was a gang member. But the letters he pointed to weren’t real tattoos—they were digitally added to a photo to assist Donald Trump in interpreting the tattoos.
Here’s the image Trump used, with the letters clearly typed over the real tattoos:
The image Trump used was posted on Truth Social. It showed letters “M,” “S,” “1,” and “3” placed above real tattoos like a marijuana leaf and a smiley face. But those letters were not tattooed on Abrego García’s actual hand.
He thought the letters that were spelled out on his hand were an actual tattoo and not digitally added onto the hand to assist him in deciphering the actual tattoos. Experts and law enforcement have confirmed the letters weren’t real. Photos taken by officials in El Salvador show no such markings.
Even when Terry Moran, an ABC News interviewer, told Trump the letters were added digitally, Trump refused to back down. He kept saying they were tattooed, even though it wasn’t true. His brain treats anything that fits his narrative as fact, no matter how fake it is.
Normally, a president would be briefed with the truth. Someone would bring him the image and say, “Mr. President, these letters on his hand aren’t real. This is a graphic, not actual evidence.”
But in Trump’s orbit, no one steps in. His team just lets falsehoods slide and pushes them further. And in this case, the lie helped justify deporting someone who had a legal order protecting him.
Kilmar Abrego García was deported despite facing real danger. A judge had blocked his removal, and it happened anyway. Trump used a fake gang tattoo to push it through.
America needs to wake up.
This is insane.
Centered America won’t stop fighting for you, and won’t stop fighting to uphold our constitutional and democratic principles.
Keep fighting for our democracy, keep fighting for America,
Sharad & Gavin | The Centered America Team