New Delhi: Memes have taken over social media in response to US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, with users churning out everything from AI-generated images of Trump and Elon Musk stitching shoes in Chinese factories, to witty takes on $40 avocados, and penguins staging protests against trade restrictions on remote, uninhabited islands.
Earlier this month, Trump announced a sweeping series of tariffs—10 percent baseline duty, apart from additional tariffs targeting numerous countries—forming a key part of his revived “America First” trade policy. Global markets, including Wall Street, did not react too well. Then he announced a 90-day pause on the additional duties the following week on all countries, except China.
US and China have been hitting each other with rising tariffs. The new total duties imposed on China by the US now stand at 145 percent, with Beijing raising the retaliatory tariff to 125 percent on American goods.
India faces a 26 percent levy, and while it is ready to look for opportunities and negotiate with the US on a trade deal, other countries are considering retaliation.
Although the tariffs have sparked strong criticism from economists across the globe—many warning of inflation and broader economic consequences—they have also triggered a wave of internet memes so widespread that even diplomats and official spokespersons have joined the online banter.
Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted a meme on X Thursday that showed the cost of Trump’s trademark “Make America Great Again” caps soaring by more than 50 percent—a satirical jab at the President’s own trade measures.
— Mao Ning 毛宁 (@SpoxCHN_MaoNing) April 10, 2025
Adding to the humour, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, shared another meme soon after, depicting MAGA hat prices more than doubling, and credited the image to a user on the Chinese social media platform Rednote.
https://t.co/uW6kLNkTA4 pic.twitter.com/iFP7RRT47V
— Liu Pengyu 刘鹏宇 (@SpoxCHNinUS) April 10, 2025
AI-generated videos have only fuelled the meme wave, with one particularly viral clip showing a man hunched over a sewing machine, followed by scenes of equally weary workers, all with tired, sombre expressions.
Chinese memes on American re-industrialization rolling in. lol the music. 😂 pic.twitter.com/GZE2jHDgWZ
— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) April 7, 2025
A slow, mournful musical score underlines the mood of despair, culminating in a closing frame that reads, “Make America Great Again”. The clip was shared by @gaborgurbacs on X with the caption, “Chinese memes on American re-industrialisation rolling in. lol the music”, and has since amassed over 18 million views, 44,000 shares, and 228,000 likes.
One popular meme borrowed from The Eric Andre Show was cleverly reworked to criticise Trump’s tariffs—depicting “Donald Trump” shooting “The U.S. Economy” and blaming Joe Biden, highlighting the tendency to pin the economic fallout of Trump-era policies on his successor. Posted by @SkylerforNY, the meme has garnered three million views.
Donald Trump when the tariffs hit pic.twitter.com/pPHmZ7jkkb
— Skyler Johnson (@SkylerforNY) February 2, 2025
Ian Bremmer, the prominent American political scientist, also joined the online commentary around Trump’s controversial trade moves, ridiculing the imposition of a 10 percent duty on the Heard and McDonald Islands—territories that are uninhabited.
unprecedented protests this morning on heard and macdonald islands, as the population rises up against trump imposition of 10% across the board tariffs. pic.twitter.com/eOtsJ8uH5I
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) April 3, 2025
He posted a meme showing thousands of penguins protesting on the icy islands, captioned: “Unprecedented protests this morning on Heard and McDonald Islands, as the population rises up against Trump’s imposition of 10% tariffs.”
Liu Pengyu later reshared a similar meme, adding to the digital chorus of mockery and humour.
#tariffs #HeardAndMcDonaldIslands pic.twitter.com/I8ergUFRzx
— Liu Pengyu 刘鹏宇 (@SpoxCHNinUS) April 6, 2025
The White House, too, dipped into the meme culture with a post featuring official portraits of President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, alongside the phrase “let him cook”. The post followed Trump’s unexpected policy reversal on 10 April, when he paused his reciprocal tariffs just one day after introducing them. It quickly went viral, drawing over 25 million views and 22,000 reshares.
LET HIM COOK! 😤 pic.twitter.com/3sEU5UtU6X
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 9, 2025
While 180 countries are struggling to deal with the effects of President Trump’s expansive tariff strategy, Russia and North Korea have been notably spared—and the omission has not gone unnoticed.
The Russian Embassy in Kenya weighed in with a meme titled “Tariff wars”, showing other nations caught in turmoil while Russia appears relaxed and unbothered. The image portrays Russia reclining serenely, seemingly untouched by the ongoing global trade conflict.
Tariff wars pic.twitter.com/DQD8RDl3Dt
— Russian Embassy in Kenya/Посольство России в Кении (@russembkenya) April 8, 2025
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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