Trump Portrays Himself as Naruto on Truth Social, and the Internet Has Opinions

President Donald Trump has done it again, and this time the target of his AI-generated self-mythology is one of the most beloved figures in anime history.

The 45th and 47th president shared an image on Truth Social depicting himself as Naruto Uzumaki, the iconic spiky-haired ninja from Masashi Kishimoto’s legendary franchise, sparking a predictably wild wave of reactions across social media.

Created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto Uzumaki is a young ninja who embarks on a journey to become the strongest ninja in his village and ultimately its leader, known as the Hokage. He is cheerful, hyperactive, strong-willed, and determined, a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village who aspires to become Hokage despite being the most poorly performing student in his ninja school, striving to prove his worth to peers who once doubted him.

Whether Trump’s team sees some kind of intentional parallel in that underdog-to-leader arc, or simply thought the orange jumpsuit worked aesthetically, is anyone’s guess.

The screenshot shows Trump’s face photoshopped onto Naruto’s signature orange-and-black outfit, hands clasped in the character’s iconic hand seal pose, surrounded by other characters from the series.

This is far from an isolated moment. Trump or whoever had control of his account shared a record 861 posts and reposts on Truth Social in May alone, working out to an average of over 27 posts a day, including inflammatory memes and reposted AI-generated images and videos.

Among the more eyebrow-raising posts was an image depicting Democrats in an unflattering scenario, and in April, Trump shared one controversially portraying himself as Jesus.

That Jesus post drew rare criticism from the religious right, prompting allegations of blasphemy and calls for him to take down the image before it was ultimately deleted. The Naruto post, by contrast, appears to have landed in considerably lighter territory, with anime fans torn between amusement and bewilderment rather than outrage.

Trump’s team has leaned heavily into AI self-portraiture as a deliberate strategy. The administration’s official social media accounts have grown by more than 16 million new followers across platforms since Inauguration Day, and the White House has made no secret of its commitment to meme culture, even posting a sign on the White House lawn parodying critics of its online content.

The latest wave of AI content fits a clear pattern in which the president has published several videos and images presenting himself in an exaggerated manner using artificial intelligence, with previous examples including an “AI-generated Trump 007 meme” and content describing him as “the Greatest Attraction.”

Anime fans, a community notoriously protective of their beloved characters, have had predictably mixed things to say about ‘Naruto’ getting the presidential treatment, with many flooding the replies with ninja-themed jokes and others expressing genuine philosophical distress.

Trump posted over 2,200 times in the first four months of the year alone, averaging close to 19 posts per day, covering everything from political endorsements to memes and AI-generated imagery. At this rate, it may only be a matter of time before the president works his way through the entire Shonen Jump roster.

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