White House Meme Backfires: Trump Styled as Sith Lord on Star Wars Day

May 4th, 2025 - The Force may be strong, but meme literacy in the White House"s social media team? Not so much.

In an attempt to tap into the annual Star Wars Day celebration, the official White House X (formerly Twitter) account shared an image of Donald Trump wielding a red lightsaber in front of two bald eagles and the American flag. The caption framed the former president as a patriotic defender of the galaxy - though fans of the franchise quickly noticed a glaring issue: red lightsabers belong to the Sith.

"Happy May the 4th to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to bring Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, & well known MS-13 Gang Members, back into our Galaxy," the caption read. "You"re not the Rebellion - you"re the Empire. May the 4th be with you."

The irony? Trump appears to be styled exactly like the villains they"re condemning.

🔴 A Jedi? Or the Emperor in Disguise?

The AI-generated image shows Trump in a Jedi-style robe, but with exaggerated muscles, glowing red saber, and - unintentionally or not - all the visual cues of a Dark Side enforcer. The post instantly sparked backlash and confusion:

"If you"re holding a red saber and trying to fight "the Empire," you might need to rewatch Star Wars," wrote one user.
"Did the White House just make Trump look like Darth MAGA?" quipped another.

📸 Not the First Meme Misfire

This comes just a day after another viral controversy, where the White House reposted an AI photo of Trump dressed as the Pope - a move that offended many Catholics, especially in light of Pope Francis" death on April 21st.

"There is nothing funny about this image," the New York State Catholic Conference wrote. "We are grieving. Don"t mock us."

Making things worse, Trump reportedly said he was "looking forward to the funeral," and appeared at the memorial in a bright blue suit rather than traditional black.

🎭 Parody, PR stunt, or just clueless?

Some speculate that the meme may have been intentional trolling, while others blame it on a lack of pop culture awareness. Either way, the result is the same: another online spectacle starring Trump and the White House - and the internet is loving it.

Happy May the 4th to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to to bring Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, & well known MS-13 Gang Members, back into our Galaxy. You’re not the Rebellion—you’re the Empire.

May the 4th be with you. pic.twitter.com/G883DhDRR5

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 4, 2025