It all started with a birthday post on X. Abby Ronson, a woman from a firm who works on former representative Mike Rogers’ Senate campaign, posted an image along with her birthday message. It featured Rogers looking absurdly buff, his artificial-intelligence generated muscles bulging in a tight, light blue, button-down shirt.
In another X post, Ron Filipkowski of MeidasTouch pointed out how the AI-edited photo differed from the Republican candidate’s regular-guy physique. Detroit News photographer David Guralnick took the original photo at a Fourth of July parade in 2024.
Within 24 hours, Ronson’s post inspired mockery, copycat images and critique on social media. A few examples include the Lincoln Project’s AI-generated image of Rogers as the Hulk, with green skin and a ripped shirt, as well as a similar image State Sen. Matt Lesser (D-Ct.) and U.S. State Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) made of themselves.
“I am doing this right?” asked Lesser in his X post.
X user Anna Hoffman said of the trend: “This is lol. And effective as everyone has been amplifying it all day.”
“Just so I’m clear… the same people who constantly make fun of Haley’s appearance tweeted THIS photo?” asked Caitlin Legacki, a communications consultant for the campaign of U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens.
Rogers even jumped in on the action himself, posting “Put me in coach,” on a video depicting him jumping into a fighting ring.
He’s currently running to serve Michigan in the U.S. Senate and is on the ballot for the Republican primary in August, according to Ballotpedia. A Michigan native, Rogers formerly served in the U.S. Army and as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation before representing Michigan in the U.S. House from 2001 to 2015.
As for Ronson’s connection to the Rogers campaign, The Detroit News reported that she is a former GOP congressional aide who works for a Rogers campaign vendor with the Virginia-based firm Convergence Media.
Per the outlet, “the firm has charged Rogers’ campaign more than $619,000 this election cycle for media consulting, production and ad placement services, according to Federal Election Commission records.”
Still, Rogers campaign spokeswoman Alyssa Brouillet said that Ronson is “not a staffer” of Rogers. Brouillet also said that “Mike doesn’t need AI to frame-mog his opponents,” referencing the term often used by “looksmaxxing” influencers online.
Yet, the “Mike Rogers War Room” X account was keeping the trend alive Wednesday with an AI-generated video of Rogers performing incredible feats like lifting brick walls and stopping cars with one hand.
