September 7, 2026

Read the original at Letters from an American ↗
Cite

Richardson, H. C. (2026, September 8). September 7, 2026. Letters from an American. https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-7-2026

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Letters from an American · collected 2026-09-08 · by Heather Cox Richardson commentary

Quick Summary

President Donald J. Trump has been posting at a frantic pace on social media since yesterday, sharing AI-generated images and videos that depict him in various superhero roles, including as Green Lantern, as well as images of himself with President George Washington and changing maps to show US territory expansions. The posts have included claims that he will "GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS THE GREATEST PRESIDENT OF ALL TIME!" and that Iran is collapsing. Trump has also shared an AI image of himself beating Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at hockey, as well as a post acknowledging complaints about his rapid-fire stock trading, which has netted him over two billion dollars. The White House social media account has captioned one video with a quote from the Green Lantern oath.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-08, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

President Donald J. Trump has been posting unusual content on social media, including AI-generated images of himself with historical figures like President George Washington and as superheroes from DC Comics, such as Green Lantern. On his official White House account, he posted a video of himself as Green Lantern, captioned with the character's oath, which was slightly altered. He also shared images of Space Force uniforms that resemble those in the 1997 film Starship Troopers, and posted multiple AI-generated pictures of himself in various scenarios, including as a "superhero dark lord" and in a spaceship. The content has been seen by many as an attempt to project power and strength, with some interpreting it as an effort to intimidate or distract from issues like rising gas prices. The Labor Day gasoline average was $4.10 a gallon, compared to $3.16 last year.

Written for “Apple iPhone Launch” on 2026-10-23, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Apple iPhone Launch
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 13% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Independent
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 6% hedged 1 of 18 📰 publisher trust 59
“Article A mentions a specific design for Space Force uniforms, while Article B mentions multiple posts by President Trump on social media showing various things, including Space Force uniform images”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
52
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
13%
7 of 52 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
not measured
these signals count newsroom corrections; Commentary has none to count
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-08 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Letters from an American · 102 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Heather Cox Richardson
94 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 He continued: “If Trump wanted to help Ukraine militarily and with starshield he could.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · October 22, 2026
🔮 Two days before congressionally mandated sanctions on Russia were set to take effect, Trump said he would waive them.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Politics Chat, October 20, 2026
🔮 I continue to believe that he is holding photos, videos, whatever it might be.”
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · October 21, 2026
🔮 Haberman and Swan note that forcing the press out of the White House would be “highly symbolic.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · October 20, 2026
🔮 I am just through the door from several days’ travel and am wiped out, so this will not be a real letter.
2026-10-20 · assertive framing · October 19, 2026
🔮 The reporters explained that a three-way summit with China and the U.S. would cement Russia’s status as one of the world’s three great powers, a status Putin has sought since 2000 when he entered the Kremlin.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · October 18, 2026
🔮 It was not until close to 6:00 Eastern time that the No Kings account could be used again.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · October 17, 2026
🔮 Trump said he would let her decide if she wanted to stay but added that if he were in her shoes, he would “reconsider.”
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · October 16, 2026
🔮 Then, as corruption becomes the party’s driving force, the only people willing to work for it are either corrupt themselves or so unqualified they support the corrupt leadership to gain power, knowing that in a merit-based system it would be entirely out of their reach.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · October 15, 2026
🔮 Adam Wren, Meredith Lee Hill, and Will Steakin of Politico report that Trump’s super PAC, “MAGA Inc.,” is coordinating with other super PACs to try to salvage the Republicans’ control of the Senate.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · October 12, 2026
Also by Heather Cox Richardson
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2026-10-23 · Letters from an American
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 94 articles by Heather Cox Richardson →

Topics

DC Comics Iran Space Force U.S. White House

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 8× Iran GPE · 4× U.S. GPE · 3× Donald J. Trump PERSON · 2× White House ORG · 2× DC Comics ORG · 1× George Washington PERSON · 1× Green Lantern PERSON · 1× Green Lantern’s PERSON · 1× Nazis NORP · 1×

Narrative

Also today, when Martha Raddatz of ABC News noted that gas and diesel prices are soaring, with the Labor Day gasoline average at $4.10 a gallon compared with $3.16 last year, she played a clip of Trump telling an audience that when they had to “pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember, you’re doing it so that a very evil country cannot have—a country, really, it’s the number one state sponsor of terror in the world.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-08
🔮 Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power…
2026-09-08 · Letters from an American
September 7, 2026 · assertive framing

Claims (52 extracted, 7 hedged)

Since yesterday, President Donald J. Trump has been posting on social media at a frantic pace, showing AI images of himself with President George Washington on his own account and, on the official White House account, a video of himself as the DC Comics Green Lantern superhero. asserted
Trump → post → superhero
The White House social media account ripped off Green Lantern’s oath, captioning the video: “In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. asserted
evil → rip → sight
Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power… uncertain
evil → let → power
Back on his own account, Trump posted images of Space Force uniforms that mimic those of Starship Troopers, whose design the director of that 1997 film claimed was meant to invoke Nazis. asserted
director → post → Nazis
He also posted two AI images of himself in what appears to be a spaceship with his hands on buttons as two nuclear mushroom clouds billow off planet Earth behind him, and two images of himself as a sort of superhero dark lord with a dark army around him with the captions “THEY WILL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN,” “GIVE THEM NIGHTMARES,” and “THEY WILL DREAM OF US FOREVER.” asserted
THEY → post → US
He posted multiple images of himself changing maps or of new maps showing the change of the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” and the state of New Mexico to “New America,” and labeling the Strait of Hormuz as “NEW U.S. Territory.” asserted
himself → post → Territory
He showed the colors of the United States over the North American continent, and he posted “before” and “after” maps in which Iran was replaced with a silhouette image of his own head, as well as an AI image of a U.S. military plane blowing up Iran’s Kharg Island with the caption: “Bye bye, Kharg,” along with repeated claims that Iran is collapsing. uncertain
Iran → show → claims
He posted an AI-generated image of himself beating Canadian prime minister Mark Carney at hockey and saying, “GET UP, GOVERNOR,” an insulting reference to Canada as a U.S. state. asserted
himself → post → state
He also posted an image of the moon with the caption: “THE MOON IS OURS” along with a U.S. flag. asserted
MOON → post → flag
And, of course, many of the things Trump posted claimed he would “GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS THE GREATEST PRESIDENT OF ALL TIME!” asserted
he → post → TIME
He posted AI images of former president Joe Biden wearing a Trump 2024 hat and anti-Trump actor Robert DeNiro holding up a shirt saying “TRUMP IS MY PRESIDENT.” asserted
TRUMP → post → shirt
He posted an AI image of what seemed to be the luxury liner RMS Titanic, labeled “DUMOCRATIC PARTY,” sinking in flames. asserted
what → post → flames
He acknowledged complaints about the fact he has pocketed more than two billion dollars from rapid-fire stock trading since taking office a second time. asserted
he → acknowledge → office
He posted an image of himself trading stocks at his desk in the Oval Office at a screen that reads “BOUGHT: INTEL $20” and another that reads “NOW $95” with the caption: “I do this for our Country, not myself. asserted
I → post → Country
I’ve made Hundreds of Billions of Dollars on Stocks, and many other type Holdings, for the U.S.A., not myself, and all I do is get criticized by the Radical Left Dumocrats. asserted
I → make → Dumocrats
Very unfair, but what can you do! asserted
you → do → what
He reiterated his demand for the SAVE America voter suppression act and claimed: “Except for the RADICAL LEFT that wants to RAISE YOUR TAXES, and wreck our Economy, EVERYONE LOVES TAX CUTS! asserted
EVERYONE → reiterate → CUTS
My Big Beautiful Bill was the BIGGEST relief in HISTORY for hardworking families—Nobody’s seen anything like it!” asserted
Nobody → see → it
It seems likely that he and his aide Natalie Harp, who is apparently behind much of his social media, think trolling the country is a good way to keep attention focused on Trump rather than on rising inflation, corruption, or the war in Iran. asserted
attention → seem → Iran
On CNN today, pollster Harry Enten noted that while Trump enjoyed a 20-point advantage over Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, in 2024 on economic issues, Trump’s approval rating for how he is handling the economy is now 41 points underwater. asserted
he → note → economy
“We’re talking about a switcheroo in the wrong direction of 61 points on this Labor Day,” Enten said. asserted
Enten → talk → Day
“It is not a happy Labor Day, indeed, for President Trump when it comes to how those who are employed view him on the economy. asserted
who → come → economy
Also today, when Martha Raddatz of ABC News noted that gas and diesel prices are soaring, with the Labor Day gasoline average at $4.10 a gallon compared with $3.16 last year, she played a clip of Trump telling an audience that when they had to “pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember, you’re doing it so that a very evil country cannot have—a country, really, it’s the number one state sponsor of terror in the world. asserted
it → note → world
We don’t want to have them have a nuclear weapon. asserted
them → want → weapon
So remember that, when you have to pay a little bit more, you’re at $4, it’s okay. asserted
it → remember → 4
I mean, it’s, I’m not, I’m not. asserted
I → mean → ?
I will never apologize. asserted
I → apologize → ?
I did the right thing.” asserted
I → do → thing
Raddatz asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright today about when we might see a nuclear agreement with Iran, since it’s already been six months of higher prices and there doesn’t seem to be one on the table. uncertain
it → ask → table
Wright answered: “There may not be a nuclear agreement. uncertain
Wright → answer → ?
It may be simply destroying their capabilities to do it. uncertain
It → destroy → it
An agreement may await a next administration in Iran. uncertain
agreement → await → Iran
We simply don’t know that. asserted
We → know → that
But I think what the president was communicating there is how critically important this is.” asserted
this → think → what
Tonight, Trump posted: “Oil prices will drop precipitously, like everything else is dropping (but more!), when we WIN the war with Iran. asserted
we → post → Iran
It will all happen quickly, and Iran will never have a Nuclear Weapon. asserted
Iran → happen → Weapon
” But while at some level Trump might think he is being clever by keeping the focus on himself, what he is really doing is demonstrating that he is no longer even trying to govern and is instead retreating into a world where he simply does whatever he wants without regard for the country. uncertain
he → think → country
In the early hours of Trump’s rants yesterday, even before they had gained their full momentum, Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) called out the Republicans who are refusing to exercise their constitutional powers to protect the country. asserted
who → gain → country
“This is truly unhinged,” she posted on social media over a video of his posts. asserted
she → post → posts
“I don’t want to hear ‘oh, it’s just Trump being Trump’ or he’s ‘trolling.’ asserted
he → want → ?
…and 12 more, not listed.
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