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The internet is having fun with penguins after former U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on a remote island with no people — only birds.
On Wednesday, Trump announced new worldwide tariffs, including a 10% tariff on exports from the Heard and McDonald Islands, a cold, uninhabited Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic. The only residents of the island? Penguins — and lots of them.
Soon after the announcement, social media users flooded the internet with memes. One viral image showed a penguin photoshopped into the Oval Office, replacing Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky during a recent political meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Another meme showed former First Lady Melania Trump smiling at an emperor penguin, instead of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
People were quick to joke about Trump’s decision.
“The penguins have been ripping us off for years,” joked Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former communications chief, on X (formerly Twitter).
“Donald Trump slapped tariffs on penguins and not on Putin,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, criticizing that Russia wasn’t included in the tariff list.
The White House responded, saying sanctions on Russia already limited trade, so there wasn’t anything meaningful left to target with tariffs.
Trump’s tariff list also puzzled many when he imposed a 29% tariff on Norfolk Island, another tiny Australian territory with just over 2,000 people. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese commented, “I’m not quite sure that Norfolk Island is a trade competitor with the United States.”
Even Britain’s Falkland Islands, known for its large penguin population and a 1982 war between the UK and Argentina, was hit with a 41% tariff — much higher than the UK’s standard 10%.
While the penguin memes are keeping social media entertained, the financial markets aren’t laughing. U.S. stocks had their worst day since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 following the announcement.
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