White House claims Trump went from ‘hunted to hunter’ in latest unhinged meme with fireworks, eagles and flags

The White House has again posted another bizarre meme of Donald Trump, this time presenting the president striking a heroic pose against the night sky and declaring: “I was the hunted – now I’m the hunter.”

Surrounded by Fourth of July fireworks, the Stars and Stripes and bald eagles hovering low, Trump is cast as an all-American avenger. While not explicitly spelled out, the ‘hunted’ presumably refers to the indictments he faced in 2023, all of which he complained were fabrications invented by his political adversaries to persecute him.

“They came after the wrong man,” the post is captioned, but who “they” are and who precisely Trump is “hunting” is not obvious.

That said, Trump has recently called out a string of old foes, from former president Barack Obama to California Sen. Adam Schiff and expat chat show host Rosie O’Donnell, as he seeks to move on from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal currently threatening to engulf his presidency.

Trump regularly griped throughout his first term that he was the victim of “witch hunts” to discredit him, beginning with then-FBI special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into his campaign’s alleged ties to Russia and continuing into the House impeachment hearings over his “quid pro quo” phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019.

After losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden, Trump went on to be indicted by another special counsel, Jack Smith, over his role in the Capitol riot and for retaining top secret documents at his Florida home, as well as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for falsifying business records to conceal “hush money” payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels and by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for attempting to overturn the election result in Georgia.

Only Bragg’s case reached trial, with Trump ultimately found guilty on all counts on May 30 last year. He moved quickly to appeal a verdict that left him the first convicted felon to win the White House, another unwanted historic first for the only U.S. president to be impeached twice.

Throughout his legal ordeals, Trump insisted he was innocent of any wrongdoing and that his long list of enemies were conspiring against him.

As a candidate last year, he also repeatedly declined invitations to deny that he was motivated by revenge, instead telling Newsmax in June 2024, to give just one example, that it was “very possible” his political opponents could be prosecuted if he returned to power.

The latest meme from the official White House X account would appear to back up that threat and has drawn a mixed reaction from commentators, finding favor with MAGA and QAnon accounts but scorn elsewhere, with many posting memes of their own to suggest it is just another Epstein distraction tactic.

“This post by The White House X account, crosses a line that should concern every American, regardless of party,” wrote podcaster Lorenzo Maldonado.

“This isn’t just over the top campaign propaganda. It’s a direct use of government branding to promote one man’s narrative of vengeance, using militaristic imagery and cult like symbolism.

“‘I was the hunted now I’m the hunter’? That’s not the language of democracy. That’s something else entirely. The presidency isn’t a weapon. And the White House isn’t a campaign tool.”

Earlier this month, the same account posted an image of Trump as Superman to capitalise on the new DC blockbuster starring the Man of Steel, which likewise attracted derision.

That post led one commentator to accuse the billionaire businessman of turning the Oval Office into “a slop engagement farm” by putting out content designed to excite Trump’s base and troll his detractors, rather than serious and informative messaging from the commander-in-chief.