Trump Slammed for Photoshopping MS-13 Tattoo on Deported Dad’s Hand

President Donald Trump is once again facing backlash on social media—this time for allegedly posting a digitally altered image to support his controversial deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father of three.

On Friday, the former president took to Truth Social to defend his refusal to comply with court orders to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. after he was mistakenly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador without due process. Trump claimed Abrego Garcia is a violent MS-13 gang member, writing, “This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such ‘a fine and innocent person.’”

He added, “They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found that he was a member of MS-13, beat up his wife, etc. I was elected to take bad people out of the United States, among other things. I must be allowed to do my job. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump’s post included a photo of what appeared to be a man’s hand featuring four symbols—each labeled with a letter or number to spell out “MS-13”: a marijuana leaf (M), a smiley face (S), a cross (1), and a skull (3). But almost immediately, users online began calling foul.

According to several social media users, the letters “M,” “S,” “1,” and “3” were not part of the original tattoo and had been digitally added to the photo. Critics say Trump’s team manipulated the image to falsely portray Abrego Garcia as a gang member.

“Trump has posted a fake picture of Abrego Garcia’s hand where they have photoshopped letters spelling MS-13 on his upper knuckles,” tweeted political analyst @RachelBitecofer. “Here is the original. It’s spreading all over MAGA media.”

Another user, @LindaIHiggins, chimed in: “Hey Old Man, @realDonaldTrump, have someone teach you about Photoshop. This is an excellent example of altering a photo, in this case to make your illegal actions look good. But instead you look foolish.”

While Trump didn’t mention any edits in his post, others rushed to defend him. Some argued that the added labels were just “illustrative” and not meant to deceive. “It’s obvious those letters weren’t real—they’re slightly misaligned,” one supporter wrote. “It’s just showing what the symbols could mean.”

But many aren’t buying that excuse. Critics point out that Trump used the image to build a narrative around Abrego Garcia’s supposed gang ties—something neither the photo nor public record has conclusively proven. The symbols alone have never been confirmed as MS-13-related, and critics say Trump’s breakdown of the symbols (marijuana leaf + smiley = MS; cross = 1; skull = 3) feels like a stretch.

Neither Trump nor his office responded to questions about whether the image had been altered. The White House has also remained silent on the controversy.

As of now, Abrego Garcia remains in custody in El Salvador, with Trump defiantly refusing to abide by Supreme Court orders demanding his return.