On June 11, 2026, Chinese media outlet Observer Network reported that U.S. President Donald Trump caused controversy on Japanese social media by releasing a video in which he impersonates Uzumaki Naruto, the protagonist of the popular Japanese anime "NARUTO -Naruto-".

According to the article, on the 6th of this month, Trump released a video on social media titled "Everyone Loves Trump." This video was a compilation of many clips, including scenes of Trump dining with the Mexican President and riding a lion, and in one of those scenes, Trump appeared to be impersonating Uzumaki Naruto, the protagonist of "NARUTO -Naruto-", using the "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Although the intention of this video is not clear, Trump has often used Japanese anime for political propaganda in the past, and each time it has caused controversy. On Japanese social media, critical voices such as "As a Naruto fan, it's very frustrating. Please don't use it without permission" and "Don't bring politics into anime" have been pouring in, and many people are reportedly questioning Trump's unauthorized use of Japanese anime content.

As the controversy expanded, this issue began to be covered by international media such as the BBC and AFP. The BBC reported that discontent against Trump has been accumulating over the past few months. Last September, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a video on social media showing the apprehension of undocumented immigrants with the slogan "We'll catch them all!", but it caused controversy because it used the theme song and footage from "Pokémon" and displayed photos and names of apprehended suspects in a format resembling "Pokémon cards."

In March of this year, The Pokémon Company International protested the Trump administration's unauthorized use of Pokémon character images. Additionally, it was discovered that the official White House account had posted a video combining footage from "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and "Dragon Ball" with footage of U.S. military airstrikes in Iran, which led Japanese anime fans to start a petition, calling on copyright holders and the Japanese government to prevent a series of rights infringements by the Trump administration. To date, over 20,000 people have participated in the petition.

Furthermore, the Japanese anime fan who launched this petition stated that they felt a responsibility to take action, saying, "Mr. Kazuki Takahashi, the original creator of 'Yu-Gi-Oh!', passed away after attempting to save a life in the sea. The noble spirit of Mr. Takahashi, who tried to save others, and the message of his work being consumed for military propaganda, and the reality that he is no longer alive to voice his protest himself, truly made me deeply sad."

Regarding this controversy, Chinese netizens commented, "Japanese people, you're quite good at complaining against the U.S.," "Japan really gets serious when it comes to anime copyrights, doesn't it?" and "They should just file a lawsuit and have the 'NARUTO -Naruto-' side demand copyright fees from Trump." The discussion surrounding copyright also attracted attention.

In addition, comments sympathizing with Naruto were also received, such as "Sorry, Naruto...," "This time, Naruto is truly a bit pitiable," "This might be the first time Naruto has suffered such severe reputational damage," and "Naruto is a righteous character who values peace and the bonds with his friends. He's completely different from Trump." (Translation/Editing by Iwata)