China takes a 'heavy' troll of USA

TOI Correspondent from Washington: AI-generated videos and memes from China trolling tariff-entranced Trumpian USA is tickling some Americans and tormenting others.

One video created by a Chinese tik-toker that has gone viral shows obese Americans performing low-skilled work with somber Chinese music for background score. Other videos show President Trump, his veep JD Vance, Elon Musk and other White House officials assembling iPhones and making sneakers. The American "workers" typically look gloomy and overweight.

Riffing on the tariff war, China-origin memes also show the trade-mark Make America Great Again caps, "Made in China" and retailing for $ 50, selling for $ 77 after Trump's import duties. Yet another meme shows Trump sweating it out by the phone with a bubble caption reading "Why won't he call?"

The trolling comes amid increasingly bitter diatribes against Beijing in the MAGA world with Trump acolytes accusing China of stealing US jobs and intellectual property. US leaders too have spoken derisively about China. In a putdown this week on Fox News that some critics found condescending, vice president JD Vance said "we borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture." China holds $ 760 billion in US treasury bonds propping up American consumption.

Many Americans on social media took the Chinese trolling sportingly, remarking, "When did China get a sense of humor?" and "I love how they're trolling us with the work that they do." Some others were miffed. "Mocking the working class. Maybe I’m missing something?" said one peeved American, while another asked, "What’s wrong with factory workers?"

Spicy smackdowns followed on social media to Chinese statements. A video posted by the Chinese embassy in US showing Mao Tsetung asserting "We don't back down!" invited several acerbic ripostes: "So you roll out one of the biggest mass murderers in history as a mascot? Interesting choice" and "Mao represents the future you want?"

One post quoted Confucius: Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.