The Trump White House is taking heat after releasing a wild video montage that paired U.S. military strikes on Iran with clips from Hollywood blockbusters and video games.
The 42-second video was posted on X Thursday night with the message, “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY,” and quickly exploded online.
The montage mixed footage of American strikes on Iranian targets with scenes from movies including “Gladiator” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
It also featured clips from “Transformers,” “Braveheart,” “Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul,” “Iron Man,” and “Star Wars.”
Popular video games like Halo and Mortal Kombat were thrown into the mix as well.
At the end of the video, a voice declared a “flawless victory,” adding to the backlash from critics who said the White House was treating a real war like a video game.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also appeared briefly in the montage and later boosted the post, helping it spread even faster.
The reaction was immediate and brutal.
Critics from both the left and right slammed the video for turning a deadly conflict in the Middle East into political entertainment.
One X user mocked the post by writing, “White House trying to get every copy right strike known to man.”
White House deputy communications director Kaelan Dorr leaned into the stunt, posting, “Wake up, Daddy’s Home,” a reference to a nickname NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte once used for Trump.
Some conservatives were not amused.
Ryan Neuhaus, a former chief of staff to Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, blasted the video and said it was distracting from the priorities voters actually care about, per the New York Post.
“The hype edits are stupid,” Neuhaus wrote.
“We want mass deportations, the legislative agenda you campaigned on, and no more wars,” he added.
Others mocked the video as juvenile and embarrassing.
New Yorker journalist Jay Caspian Kang wrote, “Are 12 year olds the median voter now.”
Liberals were even harsher.
Neera Tanden, who served as a staff secretary in Joe Biden’s White House, accused the Trump team of pretending war was just another performance.
“The entire Trump Cabinet is made up of people play acting actual leaders and now they do videos confirming it,” Tanden said.
The backlash hit at a sensitive moment for the administration.
Public polling after the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran showed that more Americans oppose the military action than support it.
According to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average cited in the report, 48.6 percent oppose the strikes while 43% approve.
That means the White House chose to post a flashy war montage even as public skepticism about the conflict continues to grow.
The video also fits into a wider pattern.
White House communications director Steven Cheung had already brushed off criticism of an earlier Iran war hype video by posting, “W’s in the chat, boys!”
That attitude is now feeding the argument that the administration is more interested in creating viral content than showing seriousness during a major international conflict.
Trump only escalated matters further on Friday morning.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He added that after that, the U.S. and its allies would help rebuild Iran under “GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s).”
