Donald Trump Posts Poorly Edited Meme of Himself, Elon Musk, and JD Vance as Superheroes

Donald Trump has, once again, sent people buzzing after the former president recently shared a poorly photoshopped image on his Truth Social handle, depicting him and several of his political allies as members of the Justice League. The bizarre image shows Trump's head crudely pasted onto Superman's body, with a shadow oozing out from the folds of his neck.

His running mate, JD Vance, is represented as Batman, with the spiked tips of the Gotham crime fighter's cowl erupting from the Ohio senator's hair. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is Cyborg, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is the Flash, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is Wonder Woman, and ex-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is Aquaman. A text overlay read, "TRUMP 2024" in large, white letters.

Netizens chimed in with mixed reviews. @Smith13Airon wrote, "Un-f*cking believable," while @JeremiahWaldron penned, "The most cringe shit I seen." @GurteenCycling echoed, "F*cking childish and weird." Meanwhile, @JillMason195152 deemed it straight up, "PATHETIC." Another X user, @GMfromny, opined, "Musk fits the Batman type better while Vance gives off more Aquaman vibes. Kennedy fits Cyborg." @AzelfDaGirl quipped, "The Injustice League." @styt101 was super disappointed and slammed, "The absolute worst people imaginable all in one photo. How can people vote for this.." 

The meme is just the latest in a series of Trump's attempts to paint himself as a superhero. In 1996, Trump was featured as Superman in a diorama next to the cake at his 50th birthday party. 20 years later, in 2016, a pro-Trump super PAC even spent $25,000 on a digital billboard depicting the former president as the Man of Steel. Trump's eldest son, Donald Jr., in 2017, also posted a bizarre image of a fake Time cover featuring his father as a bearded Superman.

According to The Daily Beast, Trump's associates have long attempted to link the real estate magnate-turned-political firebrand to the Man of Steel. In late 2022, the Republican leader released a set of digital trading cards that featured him in a superhero costume (complete with a capital 'T'). According to Variety, his eyeballs also fired lasers.

Interestingly, Trump was apparently the inspiration for the 1980s reboot of Superman's arch-enemy, the corporate villain, Lex Luthor. John Byrne, the writer who changed Luthor from a standard mad scientist to a depiction of Wall Street greed, stated in 2017, "Of course, Donald Trump was our model." Trump's habit of posting AI-generated or altered images of himself as a superhero is also part of a bigger trend. He has flooded his Truth Social account with various manipulated images. This includes ones depicting him riding a lion, sitting with Jesus Christ in court, and smiling with Black supporters to appeal to his base and provoke his opponents.