The US Department of Education deleted a social media post featuring President Donald Trump after the video drew backlash on X for appearing to invoke Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
The department posted the 19-second video on X on Wednesday with the caption, “No one does it like us,” alongside a tiger emoji. The clip opened with a scene from the 2017 film Darkest Hour, in which Winston Churchill rejects calls to negotiate with Nazi Germany.
The scene ends with Churchill saying: “You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth.”
The department then cut to footage of Trump raising his fist and pointing, set to rapper BIA’s song “WE GO ON.” The combination prompted users on X to question whether the post was deliberately drawing a comparison between Trump and Hitler.
The post was later deleted, although screenshots and reposts continued circulating on the platform. HT.com could not independently verify the authencity of the post.
Why the Churchill scene caused controversy
The controversy stems largely from the context of the scene selected for the video.
In Darkest Hour, Churchill is depicted confronting pressure to negotiate with Nazi Germany during World War II. The “tiger” line refers to the danger posed by Hitler and Nazi Germany.
By placing that sequence immediately before footage of Trump, the Education Department’s post created an association that critics interpreted as comparing the president with Hitler.
The department’s caption, “No one does it like us” added to the ambiguity because it did not explain what the video was intended to convey.
Social media backlash
The post triggered a wave of criticism on X, with users questioning the apparent reference to Hitler and the decision to publish the video from the Department of Education’s official account.
One X user said, “??? Isn’t the ‘tiger’ Churchill is referring to in this clip Nazi Germany?”
Another wrote, “the ‘tiger’ being referenced here is Hitler btw.”
“They fired the employees who help fund teachers and students but kept the taxpayer-funded fancam editor,” another posted.
Another said, “pretty spot on because the tiger he’s referencing is nazi germany.”
One user added, “Not only is this not a real Churchill quote, the ‘tiger’ Churchill is referring to is Adolf Hitler.”
“The right plays this game where it winks at white supremacists and even fascists, like this post does: the ‘tiger’ referenced in this clip is Hitler, and the dweebs in the Trump-Vance administration are using it to mean Trump,” another user said.
