President Trump's Truth Social account provoked a reaction over the weekend by posting—and later deleting—a video touting so-called "medbeds," a fictional technology promoted in far-right conspiracy circles. The video depicted an AI-generated Trump on a Fox News segment promising "medbed cards" to Americans, granting access to hospitals supposedly capable of miraculous medical cures, Forbes reports. The segment even included an AI version of Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law, conducting the interview—an event Fox News confirmed never actually occurred.
"Every American will soon receive their own medbed card," the AI Trump said in the video. "With it, you'll have guaranteed access to our new hospitals, led by the top doctors in the nation, equipped with the most advanced technology in the world." It remains unclear why the video appeared on Trump's account. The White House has not addressed the issue. The video previously appeared on scam Instagram pages and accounts linked to QAnon, Slate reports. Some companies sell phony medbeds for tens of thousands of dollars, claiming they can cure terminal cancer.
The "medbed" conspiracy theory has circulated for years within fringe groups, particularly those evolving from the broader QAnon movement. Adherents claim the government is hiding advanced healing technology that could cure virtually all ailments, a belief that has found traction among some facing chronic health issues. These circles have also spun elaborate stories—one led by the late QAnon figure Michael "Negative 48" Protzman, for example, claimed medbeds were used to keep John F. Kennedy alive.
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Medbed conspiracy theories are "at their core, deeply depressing, because they offer false hope to people with pretty desperate situations," Molly Olmstead writes at Slate. In a post on X, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office said Trump has "lost it." "Trump is about to shut down the government and rip health care from 20 million Americans," the post said. "What's he doing? Posting AI-generated slop about 'miracle hospital beds' that cure all illness."