
Photo: Inger Vandyke /VW PICS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced his plan for sweeping tariffs, which are set to be applied to almost every other country on the map (except for Russia, which is conspicuously not on the list). The plan has sparked a global trade war — China has already announced retaliatory tariffs — and the stock market went into freefall this week as a result. Also, you might have been seeing some memes about penguins.
During Trump’s big “Liberation Day” press conference, reporters received a list of countries and territories that will be subject to tariffs. That list included the Heard and McDonald Islands, an Australian territory near Antarctica that will now face a 10 percent tax on any goods sent to the U.S. Does this territory produce, I don’t know, a lot of timber or phone chargers? No, it’s actually completely free of people and inhabited mostly by penguins.
Obviously, Trump’s choice to put tariffs on a territory whose main export is cute photos of fluffy birds is a great example of the lack of critical thinking that went into this whole plan. So naturally, in an environment that has already spawned great tweets, it was bound to be a meme.
unprecedented protests this morning on heard and macdonald islands, as the population rises up against trump imposition of 10% across the board tariffs. pic.twitter.com/eOtsJ8uH5I
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) April 3, 2025
The absurdity of the penguin tariffs was also an easy way in for Democrats like Representative Jasmine Crockett and Representative Eric Swalwell, who used it to criticize Trump’s poor leadership skills. Senator Chuck Schumer even got one off.
So let me get this straight—Trump hit places with NO people and NO trade with the U.S. with tariffs… and it’s literally just penguins out there? PENGUINS???
— Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (@RepJasmine) April 3, 2025
Tax the penguins? pic.twitter.com/U1jWLyaYLH
— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) April 3, 2025
Donald Trump slapped tariffs on penguins and not on Putin.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 3, 2025
Kind of a slam-dunk posting opportunity for these guys. While you might be laughing now, this is serious business. Americans everywhere can expect to see a much higher price tag on tuxedos that fit like skin.
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