The ad marks an unusual instance of a government-backed mortgage company deploying an AI-cloned presidential voice in public promotion, arriving as the Trump administration rolls out a series of housing policy proposals amid persistent affordability pressures — with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate standing at 6.06% as of mid-January.
Fannie Mae aired a one-minute advertisement Sunday featuring an AI-generated voice of President Donald Trump, created with his administration’s permission, as the White House escalates its push on housing affordability. A disclaimer in the video identifies the narration as AI-produced. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The ad promotes an “all new Fannie Mae,” calling the government-backed mortgage company the “protector of the American Dream” and pledging that Fannie Mae will work with the banking industry to approve more would-be homebuyers for mortgages.
“For generations, home ownership meant security, independence, and stability,” the AI-generated voice says in the ad. “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.”
ElevenLabs, an AI voice technology company, said in an email to the Associated Press on Sunday that the audio of Trump’s voice was not generated by the company. The identity of the firm that cloned the president’s voice for the ad was not disclosed.
Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Market
Fannie Mae and its counterpart Freddie Mac have been under government control since the Great Recession. The two firms guarantee roughly half of the $13 trillion U.S. home loan market, according to the AP. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 6.06% as of mid-January, the affordability backdrop the administration says is driving its housing reform push.
A Roster of Housing Proposals
Trump plans to discuss housing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, where world leaders and corporate executives are gathered. Last month, Trump pledged in a prime-time address to roll out “some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history.”
Trump and Bill Pulte, who leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, have said they want to sell shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on a major stock exchange, though no concrete plans have been set, the AP reported. The two also floated extending the 30-year mortgage to 50 years to lower monthly payments. Trump appeared to back off that proposal after critics said a longer loan term would reduce homeowners’ ability to build equity.
Earlier this month, Trump said he was directing the federal government to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds, saying the move would help reduce mortgage rates. Trump said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have $200 billion in cash that would be used to make the purchase. He also said he wants to block large institutional investors from buying houses, arguing a ban would make it easier for younger families to purchase their first homes.
AI Voice Use and the Autopen Contrast
This is not the first time the Trump family has used AI to replicate a voice. First Lady Melania Trump used ElevenLabs to help voice the audio version of her memoir, according to the AP.
Trump’s use of an AI-cloned voice for a government-backed promotional video drew attention in the context of his recent criticism of the Biden administration’s reported use of autopen — a mechanical device that replicates a signature — to apply the former president’s name to documents. A House Republican report, however, did not include concrete evidence that autopen was used to sign Biden’s name without his knowledge, the AP reported.