Off The Record
China Claps Back at U.S. Tariffs With Viral Mocking Video
Thanks to Donald Trump’s most recent trade war actions, a vicious AI-generated video that makes fun of regular Americans has gone viral on TikTok.
The film, which has had over 600,000 views and is still growing, presents a dismal (and heavily satirical) picture of what life in the United States may be like under Trump’s new tariffs, and let’s just say that it’s not exactly “making America great again.”
”Liberation Day” or new sweatshop era?
It all began on April 2, when Trump triumphantly announced his intention to impose high tariffs, up to 104%, on goods imported from nations such as China.
He called it “Liberation Day” and said it would bring back riches and jobs in America. China, however, wouldn’t have it. They retaliated with tariffs, and now the internet is reacting as well, with a lot of side-eyes, memes, and AI ridicule.
Full dystopian factory mode
Among the most discussed responses? User @axiang67 posted a TikTok video that appears to have been created by ChatGPT’s evil twin.
A horde of obese, miserable Americans is seen in the video manufacturing garments at a run-down factory. Later, people with deadpan looks may be seen constructing smartphones. With a menacing twist on Trump’s catchphrase, the video concludes:
“Make America Great Again.”
Dark? Of course. Going viral? Yes, indeed.
A few spectators chuckled.
“Amazing. Genius video,” one user commented.
Others didn’t find it funny:
”Don’t they already have robots for most of that work?”
”This isn’t what’s going to happen,” another argued.
However, Americans themselves had the most scathing responses:
“Fake… no mobility scooters,” one Reddit user shared.
“Bold to assume anyone can afford those when this day arrives.”
Right-wingers are conflicted
Paradoxically, conservative reports are unable to determine if the sweatshop fantasy is a nightmare or a dream. Some claim it’s a lovely return to “real jobs” and hard effort. Some comment that it sounds more like an episode of Black Mirror.
With the phrase, “Make the sock,” one meme even depicts a sobbing finance dude operating a sock machine while a massive Trump image watches over him.
(A phrase that nobody anticipated in 2025.)
Even with the AI meme war, American manufacturing isn’t completely in ruins.
America actually boasts the world’s second-largest industrial sector, producing everything from semiconductors to airplanes. Although we have outsourced a lot of cheap labor elsewhere, the United States hasn’t yet become a massive Etsy sweatshop.
However, detractors caution that Trump’s tariff war may backfire—severely—if it raises consumer prices, causes job losses, and worsens living circumstances for Americans with lower incomes while billionaires profit from the mayhem.
Treasury Secretary and former hedge fund tycoon Scott Bessent, for instance, has proposed that federal employees let go during the reorganization may enjoy creating widgets in these fictitious new American factories. Becoming a factory drone for the American Dream represents the pinnacle of upward mobility.
Trump supporters applaud the return of “Made in the USA,” but some are posing a more challenging query: At what cost? The world is observing—and mocking—America’s ambitious reindustrialization dream, if this widely shared Chinese film is any guide.
And what if the future appears to be one of depressing labor, production lines, and AI memes that undermine democracy? At least it won’t say “Made in China” on your iPhone.
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