Wider World

“There Are No Penguins Here”: X Mocks Trump’s AI Greenland Image

A White House attempt to tap into meme culture backfires, as users point out a basic geographic error and revive scrutiny of Trump’s Greenland rhetoric

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“There Are No Penguins Here”: X Mocks Trump’s AI Greenland Image

POLITIS NEWS

An attempt by the White House to lean into meme culture has triggered widespread mockery online, after an AI-generated image showed Donald Trump walking in Greenland alongside a penguin — an animal that does not live in the Arctic.

The image was posted on Friday on the White House’s official X account, accompanied by the caption “Embrace the penguin.” In the visual, a penguin appears holding a US flag, with Greenland’s flag planted in the background. Hours later, the Pentagon followed suit, sharing a variation of the image with the slogan “Be a warrior, embrace the penguin.”

Geography lessons, courtesy of X

The posts quickly drew ridicule, with users rushing to point out that penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, not the Arctic.

“Nice try, but we don’t have penguins here,” wrote one X user claiming to be a Greenland resident — a comment that was widely shared and became emblematic of the backlash.

The meme was loosely inspired by the viral “Nihilist Penguin,” originating from a documentary narrated by Werner Herzog, but critics said that somewhere between irony and AI generation, basic geography had been lost.

Political jabs join the mockery

Adding a political edge to the criticism, former Canadian defence minister Jason Kenney linked the image to Trump’s recent public confusion between Greenland and Iceland.

“In the same week he mixed up Iceland and Greenland, his team now seems to be confusing Greenland with Antarctica,” Kenney wrote, adding pointedly: “That’s where penguins live — not Greenland.” In a follow-up post, he remarked that “the most powerful country on Earth is being run like a circus.”

White House doubles down with irony

Rather than deleting the post, the White House responded on Saturday with another message, this time adopting a deliberately ironic tone:

“The penguin does not concern himself with the opinions of those who cannot comprehend.”

The reply did little to stem the online satire, with many users interpreting it as confirmation that the original post was, at best, poorly thought through.

Greenland back in the spotlight

The episode comes during a week in which Greenland has once again featured prominently in Trump’s public statements. Although he has stepped back from earlier remarks suggesting the possible military takeover of the autonomous Danish territory, he has continued to speak about an expanded US role in the region.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that following a “very productive” meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, a framework had emerged for a future agreement concerning Greenland and, more broadly, Arctic security and mineral resources.

Greenland: “Not for sale”

The government of Greenland has again made clear that the island is not for sale. Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said that any discussions must respect territorial integrity and international law.

He added that while a high-level working group exists, the terms of any potential agreement remain unclear — and that there are firm “red lines” that cannot be crossed.

Source: The Hill

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#TRUMP #Donald Trump #GLOBE #WIDER WORLD #GREENLAND #X.COM

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