The Trump White House released a chaotic video montage of US military strikes on Iran combined with iconic movie scenes Thursday night, drawing backlash from both sides of the aisle for making light of the Middle East war.
The X video — which stitched together memorable moments from Hollywood blockbusters like “Gladiator” and “Top Gun: Maverick” with footage of strikes on Iranian targets — was posted by the White House with the message, “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY,” and later boosted by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth himself made a brief appearance in the 42-second montage, which was crammed with clips from “Transformers,” “Braveheart,” “Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul,” “Iron Man,” and “Star Wars” as well as the popular video games Halo and Mortal Kombat — with a voice proclaiming a “flawless victory” at its end.
“White House trying to get every copy right [sic] strike known to man,” one X user quipped.
“Wake up, Daddy’s Home,” boasted White House deputy communications director Kaelan Dorr, referencing the nickname NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte gave to Trump last year.
Responses across the political spectrum ranged from outrage to disgust to disbelief to awe — with former “Hercules” actor Kevin Sorbo suggesting the taxpayer-funded video creator should be given “a raise.”
“My future children won’t believe me when I tell them The White House posted this,” another X user said.
But some conservatives claimed the video was distracting from the platform that got President Trump elected in 2024.
“The hype edits are stupid,” wrote Ryan Neuhaus, a former chief of staff to Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts. “We want mass deportations, the legislative agenda you campaigned on, and no more wars.”
Others said the montage looked like it had been put together by a child.
“Are 12 year olds the median voter now,” asked New Yorker journalist Jay Caspian Kang.
And liberals denounced the post for treating a serious war between the US and Iran like a video game.
“The entire Trump Cabinet is made up of people play acting actual leaders and now they do videos confirming it,” said Neera Tanden, a former staff secretary in President Joe Biden’s White House.
White House communications director Steven Cheung had replied to critics of a previous hype video on the Iran war by declaring on his X: “W’s in the chat, boys!”
Public polling in the wake of the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran — which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28 — found a majority of Americans oppose the military actions.
The latest RealClearPolitics polling average recorded 48.6% of respondents to surveys are against the strikes, while 43.0% approve.
On Friday, Trump warned in a Truth Social post: “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” the president said.
Trump added: “IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).’ Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
