One Piece fans criticize White House AI image featuring Donald Trump and JD Vance

The White House has faced criticism from fans of the popular Japanese anime One Piece after sharing an AI-generated image depicting President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other senior administration officials aboard the Going Merry, the ship used by Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates.

The image, posted on Monday, also featured Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The White House captioned the post, “The Mark of a Good Crew??” The ship’s sheep figurehead was shown wearing a MAGA hat, while the Straw Hats’ pirate flag appeared on its mast.

The post sparked criticism among anime fans, many of whom argued that the series’ themes of freedom, resistance to oppression and opposition to authoritarianism contradict the ideology associated with the MAGA movement.

Several users questioned the administration’s understanding of the franchise. One commenter described One Piece as a critique of authoritarianism and systemic oppression, while another simply wrote, “Leave One Piece alone.”

Other fans compared the officials’ use of pirate imagery to the Celestial Dragons, the privileged ruling class in the series. Some also shared edited images portraying Trump as Saint Charlos, one of the franchise’s most disliked characters.

This is not the first time the Trump administration has used anime references in its political messaging. Earlier this year, the White House shared clips from Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dragon Ball Z to promote its military campaign in Iran, also drawing criticism over the use of Japanese entertainment imagery.