Trump gets the Zelda treatment as White House tries to convince the world he is still working after midterms

President Donald Trump has hijacked another beloved pop culture icon, sharing a video depicting himself as a character in The Legend of Zelda — and wearing a “Still Your President” cap — just days after the GOP suffered a humiliating defeat in the midterm elections. The Democrats gained control of the House and Senate Tuesday in a fierce rebuttal to the first two years of Trump’s second term. But in the days since, the White House has made it abundantly clear to Americans that Trump is still the president. “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this (American flag emoji),” the White House wrote alongside the video Thursday morning. The clip begins with a video game home screen that reads “The Legend of Trump: Make America Great Again.” Then Trump, drawn as a video game character, appears in front of the White House. But instead of a green tunic and cap, he is in a suit, red tie and MAGA-esque cap that reads: “Still your president.” And just like Link in the popular game, Trump has his own fairy to guide him. As the video shows the video-game version of Trump running through a field, a caption reads: “You discovered Most-Favored-Nations-Drug-Pricing. Prices for prescription drugs have now recorded their sharpest drop in 60+ years!” The White House shared a video depicting President Donald Trump as a character in the popular video game The Legend of Zelda (The White House/@WhiteHouse on X)“MAKING AMERICA SAFE AGAIN! Murder Rate has dropped to a 125-year low,” the screen reads as music from the actual The Legend of Zelda video game plays in the background. “ZERO illegal aliens have been released into our nation for 17 months in a row!” the next caption reads. The video then shows Trump sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office signing papers as the caption reads: “President Trump is working tirelessly…TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!!” The Internet did not take kindly to the clip, with one user on X writing, “Yes, please keep posting things like this. Your messaging has been incredibly effective as of late,” while others urged Nintendo to sue. It was not immediately clear whether Trump had received permission to spoof the widely beloved video game. The Independent has contacted Nintendo for comment. In the video, Trump follows a fairy, similar to the characters in the real version of the game (The White House/@WhiteHouse on X)The bizarre video — and emphasis on Trump “still” being president — comes as the White House has shared a spate of defensive posts following Republicans’ devastating midterm losses. Democrats ruled the midterm elections, winning battleground states such as Texas and Iowa, and retaking control of the House and Senate.The GOP’s frustration over the losses has been evident in the White House’s social media posts over the last two days. One post on Wednesday included a picture of Trump and the caption “PSA: TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT,” while another simply read “NEVER SURRENDER (American flag emoji).” Thursday’s clip wasn’t the first time the White House has mimicked the popular video game. In September, the White House shared a similar video, writing, “Hey! Listen!” along with the MAGA-fied version of The Legend of Zelda. The Trump administration has a well-documented history of spoofing or ripping off copyrighted pop culture bits to promote the president or his messaging. The White House has co-opted clips from well-known shows, video games and films — oftentimes without permission to do so. The White House has previously ripped off other popular franchises, sharing videos depicting Trump as part of the universe to promote his ideas or as campaign messaging (The White House/@WhiteHouse on X)In August, the White House ripped off Game of Thrones in a social media video that transformed the Resolute Desk into the Iron Throne. That month it also shared a video likening ICE agents to Spider-Man, with detainees captured in webs. In July, he even shared images depicting himself as James Bond. The White House has also previously shared other videos depicting Trump in the style of other Nintendo video games, including the beloved Animal Crossing game. Last year, the White House also capitalized on a social-media trend and had the White House share a Studio Ghibli-style illustration of a detained migrant, among many others. Some of these videos shared by the White House appear to be AI-generated. But it was not immediately clear Thursday whether the video recreating The Legend of Zelda was AI-generated. The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.