Donald Trump deepfake video — Oct 2026

President Donald Trump drew public criticism after sharing an AI-generated video on Truth Social that depicted him wrestling, rolling around with, and eventually hugging a tiger. The synthetic video featured the AI-generated version of the president wagging his finger at the animal, a gesture that mirrored footage of 23-year-old William Chapman recorded shortly before his death. Chapman was killed after entering a tiger enclosure at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in the United Kingdom.

What happened

The controversy began when Donald Trump posted footage of the fatal tiger attack on his Truth Social account without offering condolences, captioning the post with the phrase, “Don’t ever mess with nature!” and signing it with his own name. Shortly thereafter, he shared the AI-generated video showing himself taming a tiger while the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played in the background.

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel addressed the incident on his program, criticizing the president for using the fatal mauling as a setup for his own AI-generated fantasy. Kimmel questioned the appropriateness of the posts, noting that the family of the deceased likely did not appreciate the juxtaposition of the tragedy with the president’s digital display. To contrast the AI-generated depiction of bravery with reality, Kimmel revisited footage from a 2015 photo shoot for TIME magazine. In that clip, Trump is seen jerking backward and appearing hesitant when a bald eagle moved toward him at Trump Tower. Kimmel used this comparison to mock the president's AI-generated persona, joking that the president would supposedly be willing to suplex a tiger despite his documented reaction to the eagle.