In March 2026, social media users shared a picture purportedly showing an authentic, decades-old glimpse of then-businessman and future U.S. President Donald Trump wearing a bathrobe and lying sideways across a bed.
For example, on March 22, an X user posted (archived) the photo with the text caption, "Somebody pointed out that those are Strawberry Shortcake pillowcases and my brain just short-circuited. He's laying on a little girl's bed." Others shared the alleged picture on Facebook, Instagram, Threads (archived) and X (archived).
Some people believed the image was generated using artificial intelligence software, with one Snopes reader asking, "Is the picture of Trump laying on a bed in a white robe real?" Another emailed with the Strawberry Shortcake question.
(@daveryder/X)
In short, the photograph is authentic and was published years before the public availability of AI tools.
A close-up examination of the pillowcases and bedding found no online matches for vintage products on eBay or other reselling websites tied to the Strawberry Shortcake brand, which originated on greeting cards in 1973 and debuted its animated children's TV series in 1980.
The British tabloid The Daily Mail first published the picture on Nov. 8, 2016 — Election Day — in an album of more than two dozen vintage photos of Trump's family, including his first wife, Ivana. They described the picture as follows: "One photo in the collection has a sexy looking young Trump shirtless and in a white terry cloth robe seated, as well as sprawled across a bed, in a very Burt Reynolds, 'Cosmopolitan' magazine-type pose, showing exposed legs." The photo's location and year were not included in the description.
Stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt tweeted (archived) a joke in one of the more popular postings of the photo on the same day as its publishing.
(@pattonoswalt/X)
The author of the Daily Mail article credited an anonymous collector with providing the picture, who said that in an unspecified year prior to 2016 she happened upon the suitcase of roughly 1,000 photos and other personal items at a thrift shop in Palm Beach, Florida. The tabloid added of the collector, referencing Trump's 1990 divorce, "She suspects that Ivana or an assistant brought the items into the shop when she downsized to a condo."
Other photos in the collection allegedly show Trump changing the diaper of one of his children, Trump spending time with his children at very young ages, Trump with his mother, Mary, around Christmastime and other moments.
Regarding The Daily Mail, in 2017, Wikipedia editors banned the tabloid from being used as a source, calling their reporting "generally unreliable." In this case, the collection of published pictures — including an image of the suitcase itself containing the roughly 1,000 pictures — substantiated the in-question photo as authentic.
Trump photo circulated amid Epstein files bill signing
The vintage photo of Trump wearing a bathrobe previously made the rounds online in November 2025, amid votes in the U.S. Senate and House for (and Trump himself signing off on) the release of case files related to the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Associated Press reported Trump could have chosen to release many of the files himself months before.
In a June 2024 interview with Fox News — months prior to his November reelection victory — Trump said (35:19) he would declassify files related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy. Then, when asked if he would declassify the Epstein files, Trump answered, in part, "Yeah, yeah, I would. I guess I would. I think that, less so, because, you know, you don't want to affect people's lives if it's phony stuff in there because it's a lot of phony stuff with that whole world. But I think I would."
Fox News initially edited Trump's answer about the Epstein files for broadcast on the cable news network on June 2, only airing his first mention of "yeah," then skipping to a different question. The network then broadcast the longer answer on the following day.
Months later, in a September 2024 interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, Trump said (44:15) of Epstein, in part, "I never went to his island, fortunately." He also said he'd "be inclined" to release the Epstein files, adding, "I'd have no problem with it."
In past years, users shared authentic photos of Trump posing with Epstein and Epstein's confidant, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as a video showing Trump and Epstein chatting at a 1992 party while watching a group of women dance.
In 2002, Trump told New York Magazine he considered Epstein a "terrific guy," adding: "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."
As of this writing, no available credible evidence tied Trump to Epstein's sex crimes.
For further reading, we previously reported about numerous fake images and videos claiming to show Trump with Epstein and young girls.