Trump White House’s Dragon Ball Z Anime Grift Finally Goes Too Far

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For several years, the Trump administration has been using anime, especially reaction videos, to promote some of its most debated policies.

Using popular anime references – like the famous “gotta catch ‘em all” from Pokémon and even the powerful Beerus from Dragon Ball Super in connection to US foreign policy – the White House is increasingly using anime to try and influence younger voters online.

Anime-themed marketing campaigns often gain a lot of attention from anime fans, but they frequently spark anger rather than praise. Recently, a post by the White House caused such strong negative reactions that 20,000 Japanese fans signed a petition asking the US government to stop using anime imagery without getting permission.

The White House responded with a new video featuring anime-inspired visuals. It borrows elements from popular shows like Cowboy Bebop, My Hero Academia, and Dragon Ball Z.

The overwhelmingly negative reaction from anime fans is a particularly stark sign that the Trump administration is losing support among the groups it’s trying to reach.

Dragon Ball Fans Unite Against US White House’s Latest Anime Video

A new video posted on June 12th by the White House’s X account uses anime-style sounds and visuals to suggest that Donald Trump has succeeded in his promise to “make America great again.” The video quickly reveals its anime inspiration by featuring the theme song from Cowboy Bebop alongside clips of Trump from his time as president.

The video cuts to a clip of Vegito from Dragon Ball Z saying, “I’m setting records,” which is presented as if he’s speaking on behalf of Donald Trump.

The video continues with appearances from popular anime characters like Yugi Mutou from Yu-Gi-Oh, All Might from My Hero Academia, and even Vegeta during the famous “over 9000” moment from DBZ.

Even before the video ends with the slogan “make America great again” and declares “mission accomplished,” it’s obvious what it’s trying to do: persuade younger voters – millennials and Gen Z – that the Trump administration was successful, despite criticisms, and deserves another four years.

This video is likely damaging Donald Trump’s reputation further among anime fans, particularly those who enjoy Dragon Ball. Fans are especially upset about the portrayal of the character Vegito, with one popular online post claiming it’s a uniquely bad depiction, even after years of debate.

Regardless of what people think about the character Vegito, fans of Dragon Ball overwhelmingly agree that the White House’s recent video was poorly received.

Dragon Ball Fans Don’t Always Dislike Politicians

The response from Dragon Ball fans to this video is especially interesting, given that fans often appreciate it when politicians acknowledge or reference the series they love.

Fans of Dragon Ball were thrilled in early April when they saw photos of French President Emmanuel Macron meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Samar Takaichi at a press conference.

President Macron of France has often expressed his fondness for anime, including Dragon Ball. However, it’s highly unlikely that former President Trump shares this interest or has ever seen DBZ.

Anime fans are very good at spotting insincerity, and right now, the Trump administration has a problem. The anime community widely believes that being featured in a White House video is a negative thing for any character—and they see this new video as proof.

Some people on X are making the strange claim that if you enjoy the anime character Vegito, you must also support Donald Trump. Apparently, expressing support for Trump has become a major point of criticism within anime fan discussions.

Okay, so it’s not just Dragon Ball fans who are losing it! The White House put out this video, and it’s seriously clever – they’ve used imagery from the Persona series too, and reimagined Trump’s cabinet members as characters from that game. It’s wild!

Fans of the Persona series haven’t been happy with this. One person commented, “It’s ironic considering the Phantom Thieves would definitely dislike him.” Another added that if Donald Trump were a character in Persona 5, he would be precisely the type of person the Phantom Thieves would target.

It’s clear now that this approach has backfired, actually creating the problems it was meant to solve.

If the Trump White House intended to thoroughly upset anime fans and lose their votes with these videos, they certainly succeeded.

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2026-06-15 21:04