The key facts
- Trump posted a 41-second video showing a man's death at a wildlife park in the UK with the caption 'Don't ever mess with nature!'
- The video was also shared by the White House account 'Rapid Response 47' on X; later Trump posted AI videos, including one featuring himself and a tiger
- Social media users criticized the post; researcher Kurt Sengul describes such a strategy as 'memetic warfare'
Posting of the video and Trump's reaction
On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, US President Donald Trump posted shocking footage on his Truth Social account showing a tiger mauling a man to death. The attack took place on Saturday at a wildlife park in the UK; the original video is 41 seconds long. Trump accompanied the post with the caption 'Don't ever mess with nature!' (in Euronews' English-language version — 'Don't ever mess with nature!').
Spread and subsequent posts
The same video was posted by the White House account 'Rapid Response 47' on X. Later, Trump posted another video, apparently created with the help of artificial intelligence, showing footage of large predators attacking people set to synthesizer music. The same day, he posted an AI video in which he himself fights and then befriends a smiling tiger to the song 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'.
Criticism on social media
Commenters under the White House post on X called the video 'disgusting' and 'hurtful', pointing to disrespect for the memory of the deceased. One user wrote: 'His family is grieving, and you decide to show the whole world the last minutes of their loved one's life.' Another remarked: 'I voted for you, but not for this. Couldn't you entrust running your campaign to some intern?'.
Context: memes and AI in the administration's communications
Trump's posts have previously caused outrage — including AI videos mocking marginalized groups and an image depicting him as Jesus Christ; the latter was deleted after criticism from religious organizations. Kurt Sengul, a researcher at Australia's Macquarie University, characterizes the president's and his administration's regular use of AI memes as 'memetic warfare'. In an interview with Euronews last year, he noted that such use of memes and generative AI creates an environment in which nothing is taken seriously, and that Trump's approach implies anyone offended by such content is simply 'lacking a sense of humor and doesn't understand jokes'.
