On Tuesday, the social media team, headed by White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, that controls the official White House X account posted a 34-second AI video based on Nintendo’s popular game franchise The Legend of Zelda.
The video depicts Trump in the lead role with scenes of a highly stylized version of the POTUS in Zelda's Ocarina of Time era-style of animation in front of the White House then in the Oval Office behind the historic Resolute Desk.
The easily recognizable Zelda logo became "The Legend of Trump." As the video begins, a very fit and agile looking Trump runs into the White House to write on a piece of paper.
Text on the screen simultaneously reads:
"President Trump is working tirelessly... TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!!"
The video then ends with animation of a line drawing of the White House being completed.
You can see the White House's post and the video here:
People were not amused by the Trump administration's latest "crappy AI slop."
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The post was mocked with alternate versions almost immediately.
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The video raised questions about intellectual property rights. The video, while ridiculous, was not a parody or satire. It also used the original game's soundtrack.
Can Nintendo sue for a copyright breach?
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The Trump administration can be sued, as demonstrated by multiple lawsuits filed and won. One such lawsuit was the National Trust for Historic Preservation suing to stop Trump's vanity project, his golden ballroom for which he demolished the White House's East Wing.
Video game creator Tetris warned the White House it takes "copyright infringement very seriously" after the Trump administration released five retro-style games on a Trump arcade website promoting right-wing propaganda and rhetoric. The game, titled Build the Wall, was clearly a rip-off of their game Tetris.
The Tetris social media account issued a statement reading:
"At Tetris we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them. To our fans everywhere: we love you, we see you, and we’re grateful to have you in our community."
The caption made clear:
"The Tetris Company was not involved in the creation of 'Build the Wall.'"
After the intellectual property rights owner's warning, the game was removed from the Trump arcade.
Will Nintendo do the same?
Liam McBurney/PA Images via Getty Images
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