US-China trade war: AI memes on 'Tariffman' Trump, Americans doing factory jobs are viral

As US President Donald Trump introduced new reciprocal tariffs and added fuel to the trade war with China, social media blew up with hilarious Chinese memes taking potshots at the American manufacturing sector. While imposing the punishing tariffs, Trump had said that his policies would revive America's lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the US. But many business experts and economists question how quickly -- if ever -- this can take place, warning of higher inflation as the tariffs raise prices.

Moreover, viral AI-generated memes mock the idea that the US can seamlessly rebuild its manufacturing base and convince its workforce to return to factory floors, especially for low-wage, high-effort jobs -- a segment China has long dominated in the global supply chain.

One of the viral memes shows obese Americans slowly working their way on the factory floor -- a dig at both the US's fight against obesity (nearly three-quarters of US citizens are overweight or obese, found a 2024 study) and the workers' inability to pace up, speed being crucial in such manufacturing units.

Some other memes depict Trump as "Tariffman" whose weapon of choice is tariffs.

Meanwhile, investors have also taken to social media after Trump's tariffs resulted in wiping trillions of dollars off the stock markets. Some retaliated with memes.