'Experiment' probes if Melania Trump’s 'clinic and aloof' letter to Putin was penned by AI

FILE PHOTO: First lady Melania Trump waves as she walks with U.S. President Donald Trump before they depart for travel to Texas to tour areas affected by deadly flash flooding, from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 11, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

When U.S. President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday, August 15, he hand-delivered a letter to the former KGB agent from First Lady Melania Trump. The letter, without actually mentioning Ukraine by name, described the plight of children in the war-torn country and received a wide range of responses on social media.

Some X.com users applauded Melania Trump for making her voice heard. But others attacked the letter as an empty, hollow gesture that will do nothing to discourage Putin from continuing to attack Ukraine militarily.

In an article published on August 19, Salon's Jason Kyle Howard wonders if perhaps the letter was written by the artificial intelligence program ChatGPT.

"Trump's letter reads as if someone did not make much of an effort," Howard argues. "That's why some have begun to speculate that the first lady's letter might have been written not by a White House staffer or intern, but by a generative AI program like ChatGPT. With stock phrases such as 'the next generation's hope' and 'a dignity-filled world for all,' and references to standing 'against the forces that can potentially claim their future,' Trump's letter reads as clinical and aloof, absent of any true emotion — a performance, phoned-in rather than heartfelt."

Howard notes that an "experiment," he asked ChatGPT to "write a letter about protecting children."

"Children, it said, 'are the foundation of our future," Howard explains. "Their 'potential” should be nurtured and their 'innocence' defended. They should be 'free to dream, grow, and thrive.' As bromidic as the AI letter was, it was better written and more cohesive than Trump's. But then again, it lacked this iconic line: 'Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter.'"

Howard adds, "The first lady's references to music and laughter might seem to invite comparisons to Whitney Houston's 1985 hit 'The Greatest Love of All,' which declared, 'Let the children's laughter remind us of how we used to be.' But Linda Creed's lyrics are, at least when interpreted by The Voice, nothing if not sincere and genuine."

Jason Kyle Howard's full article for Salon is available at this link.