'Sound like Michelle Obama': Melania Trump ripped for using AI voice 'replica' for audiobook

22 May 2025

First Lady Melania Trump in the White Rose Garden on November 26, 2019 (Evan El-Amin/Shutterstock.com)

Early Thursday morning, May 22 on X, formerly Twitter, First Lady Melania Trump announced that she was using artificial intelligence (AI) technology for her audiobook.

Trump tweeted, "A NEW ERA IN PUBLISHING I am honored to bring you Melania – The AI Audiobook – narrated entirely using artificial intelligence in my own voice. Let the future of publishing begin."

ABC News reporters Justin Gomez and Kelsey Walsh explained, "The narrator of 'Melania: The Audiobook' is an AI-generated replica of the first lady's voice, according to her website, and it was created by ElevenLabs 'under Mrs. Trump's direction and supervision'…. The AI audiobook runs for 7 hours and 1 minute."

Gomez and Walsh added, "Her coffee-table memoir was released about a month prior to Election Day in 2024. It garnered attention when she articulated her support for abortion rights, seemingly positioning herself against her husband. In her memoir, she detailed that limitations on care strip women of control over their bodies and highlighted the importance of compassion."

The first lady's announcement is receiving a lot of reactions on X, formerly Twitter.

Some MAGA allies praised Melania Trump's announcement.

X user Melanie Cipriano, for example, posted, "I bought a book for my grandmother for her birthday and she loved it."

Canada-based César Reynel Aguilera tweeted, "Thanks for existing. Thanks for bringing Barron [Trump] into this world, and making him the man he is. Our most important books are always the ones walking and talking."

But others on X didn't share their enthusiasm.

Wall Street investment banker Evaristus Odinikaeze tweeted, "An AI Melania reading Melania’s memoir? That's a disconnection wrapped in digital cosplay. Nothing says 'personal story' like outsourcing your own voice. Who really believes that Melania can write a book, let alone read it?"

X user @Angry_Staffer wrote, "I wonder if it’s going to sound like Michelle Obama."

MeidasTouch's Ron Filipkowski's observed, "They have created an 'AI Melania' to read her audiobook memoir: 'I am proud to be at the forefront of publishing’s new frontier. An AI-generated replica of my voice under strict supervision will establish an unforgettable connection with my personal story.'"

X user Peter the Borr commented, "Ha Ha Ha - The grift never ends. It just evolving to become lazy grift!"

Activist Gabe Thacker, noting Fox News' coverage of the first lady's announcement, posted, "Why is this even news? Oh wait Fox is an entertainment network not really news."

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