WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video on social media depicting himself taming a tiger after the fatal mauling of a man in England, sparking criticism over the president's insensitivity to the deceased man's family.
The AI video, which Trump posted on Truth Social late on Oct. 13, shows a smiling Trump wrestling and bonding with a tiger, days after 23-year-old William Chapman died over the weekend after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in England. The song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" plays during the 23-second video.
Earlier in the day, Trump posted actual footage of the tiger mauling Chapman and wrote: "Don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT"
The posts drew swift pushback online. "This is appallingly
tasteless. Delete it, President @realDonaldTrump," British broadcaster Piers Morgan wrote on X.
After Trump's initial post, Chapman's family urged people to stop sharing videos of the tiger attack.
"The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing ... severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this," Chapman's family said in a statement Tuesday reported by British media.
Chapman suffered from significant mental illness for several years, according to the family, who described him as "a "bright, warm and engaging young man." They said the coroner will determine whether his medical history played a role in his death.
Trump did not say why he weighed into the incident with his posts.
Trump has a long history of posting AI-generated videos and memes ‒ some insensitive or crude in nature ‒ during lengthy social-media posting sprees. Oftentimes the material goes after his political adversaries, but other times the videos appear to be random, with no identifiable context.
The tiger, an endangered Amur tiger named Altai, will not be euthanized after the incident, according to the park.
Contributing: Reuters
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump posts AI video of himself taming tiger after fatal UK zoo mauling
