Trump's voice in a new Fannie Mae ad is generated by artificial
intelligence, with his permission
[January 19, 2026] By
ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
NEW YORK wit (AP) — What sounds like President Donald Trump narrating a
new Fannie Mae ad actually is an AI-cloned voice reading text, according
to a disclaimer in the video.
The voice in the ad, created with permission from the Trump
administration, promises an “all new Fannie Mae” and calls the
institution the “protector of the American Dream.” The ad comes as the
administration is making a big push to show voters it is responding to
their concerns about affordability, including in the housing market.
Trump plans to talk about housing at his appearance at the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where world leaders and corporate
executives meet this week.
This isn’t the first time a member of the Trump family has used AI to
replicate their voice, First Lady Melania Trump recently employed AI
technology firm ElevenLabs to help voice the audio version of her
memoir. It’s not known who cloned President Trump’s voice for the Fannie
Mae ad. But ElevenLabs said in an email to The Associated Press on
Sunday that the audio of Trump's voice wasn't generated by the company.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Last month, Trump pledged in a prime-time address that he would roll out
“some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history."
“For generations, home ownership meant security, independence, and
stability,” Trump's digitized voice says in the one-minute ad aired
Sunday. “But today, that dream feels out of reach for too many Americans
not because they stopped working hard but because the system stopped
working for them."
Fannie Mae and its counterpart Freddie Mac, which have been under
government control since the Great Recession, buy mortgages that meet
their risk criteria from banks, which helps provide liquidity for the
housing market. The two firms guarantee roughly half of the $13 trillion
U.S. home loan market and are a bedrock of the U.S. economy.
The ad says Fannie Mae will work with the banking industry to approve
more would-be homebuyers for mortgages.
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This April 21, 2018, file photo shows the Fannie Mae headquarters
building in Washington. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)
 Trump, Bill Pulte, who leads the
Federal Housing Finance Agency, and others have said they want to
sell shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on a major stock exchange
but no concrete plans have been set.
Trump and Pulte have also floated extending the 30-year mortgage to
50 years in order to lower monthly payments. Trump appeared to back
off the proposal after critics said a longer-term loan would reduce
people’s ability to create housing equity and increase their own
wealth.
Trump also said on social media earlier this month that he was
directing the federal government to buy $200 billion in mortgage
bonds, a move he said would help reduce mortgage rates at a time
when Americans are anxious about home prices. Trump said Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac have $200 billion in cash that will be used to make
the purchase.
Earlier this month, Trump also said he wants to block large
institutional investors f rom buying houses, saying that a ban would
make it easier for younger families to buy their first homes.
Trump's permission for the use of AI is interesting given that he
has complained about aides in the Biden administration using autopen
to apply the former president's signature to laws, pardons or
executive orders. An autopen is a mechanical device that is used to
replicate a person’s authentic signature.
However, a report issued by House Republicans does not include any
concrete evidence that autopen was used to sign Biden's name without
his knowledge.
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