Topline
The Department of Education posted a clip on X that appeared to equate President Donald Trump with a tiger, but soon took it down after users pointed out that the tiger mentioned in the clip was Adolf Hitler, marking the latest controversy involving social media posts by the president and his administration.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with guests during an event announcing the expansion of a foster care initiative in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC.
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Key Facts
The Department of Education’s official X account on Wednesday shared a clip that included a scene from “Darkest Hour,” the 2017 biopic about former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The video shows Churchill, played by Gary Oldman, shouting: “You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth,” before it cuts to a montage of Trump clips.
The Department of Education captioned the post “No one does it like us,” followed by a tiger emoji.
In the movie, the “tiger” being referenced by Churchill is Adolf Hitler, as he expresses disgust at his government officials’ suggestion that the U.K. should negotiate with the Nazi leader.
What Happened After The Clip Was Posted?
Several users on X quickly pointed out the Education Department’s gaffe, asking whether it was aware that it was comparing the president to Hitler. Matt Rein, a Democratic National Committee official, wrote: “the ‘tiger’ being referenced here is Hitler btw.” Headquarters, a X account previously associated with Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, also criticized the post, noting: “They fired the employees who help fund teachers and students but kept the taxpayer-funded fancam editor.” The post then received a community note on X, with a longer clip from the film, and pointed out that the “tiger” mentioned in the video was Hitler. The post was taken down a short while later.
key background
The deleted post is the latest controversy involving the Trump administration and social media meme posts. In the past few months, the president had repeatedly come under fire for using AI-generated imagery. Earlier this year, Trump faced backlash—including from some Republicans—after he posted a racist video that depicted former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes on Truth Social. The clip was eventually deleted but the president didn’t apologize. Another controversy erupted in April when president shared a post depicting himself as Jesus Christ, amid a very public feud with Pope Leo XIV. The post faced immediate pushback from various groups, including some prominent Republicans, prompting Trump to delete it. A few days later, the president posted another AI image showing him embraced by Jesus in front of an American flag. Since then, Trump has occasionally gone on an AI posting spree, pushing out dozens of such memes that insult his opponents and tout his successes.
further reading
Trump Mocks Critics, Touts 2028 Run And Poses With JFK In Bizarre AI Posting Spree (Forbes)
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