The White House has hit back at Star Wars star Mark Hamill after he shared an AI-generated image showing the president in a grave, alongside the caption “if only”.
Hamill, 74, faced backlash from the administration after posting the image to Bluesky on May 6. The actor has since deleted the post.
The disputed AI picture appeared to show Donald Trump lying in an open grave surrounded by daisies, with a headstone reading “Donald J. Trump 1946 – 2024”.
Hamill, a longtime critic of Trump and his administration, wrote alongside it: “If only. He should live long enough to witness his inevitable devastating loss in the midterms, be held accountable for his unprecedented corruption, impeached, convicted & humiliated for his countless crimes.”
He continued with a second line: “Long enough to realise he’ll be disgraced in the history books, forevermore,”
The White House’s Rapid Response account on X weighed in and condemned the post in blunt terms.
“@MarkHamill is one sick individual,” it said. “These Radical Left lunatics just can’t help themselves.”
The account then added: “This kind of rhetoric is exactly what has inspired three assassination attempts in two years against our President.”
After the reaction, Hamill issued an apology while insisting he hadn’t intended to wish death on Trump.
“Actually, I was wishing him the opposite of dead, but apologise if you found the image inappropriate.”
Public spats between the White House and high-profile entertainers aren’t new, and the administration has previously pushed back when musicians and actors have criticized Trump or his team.
Earlier this year, Kesha also spoke out after the Trump administration used her 2010 track in a TikTok.
.@MarkHamill is one sick individual.
These Radical Left lunatics just can’t help themselves.
This kind of rhetoric is exactly what has inspired three assassination attempts in two years against our President. pic.twitter.com/daJqcyssm7
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 7, 2026
“It’s come to my attention that The White House has used one of my songs on TikTok to incite violence and threaten war,” she wrote on Twitter at the time.
“Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane. I absolutely do NOT approve of my music being used to promote violence of any kind.
“Love always trumps hate. please love yourself and each other in times like this,” Kesha continued.
White House director of communications Steven Cheung responded publicly to Kesha’s objection, referencing a screenshot of her Instagram Story.
“All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this.
“This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re b*tching about.”
“Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he concluded his post.
The exchange ended with a sarcastic tone from the administration’s side.