Education Department sparks backlash with video likening Trump to Hitler
The U.S. Department of Education posted a promotional clip that juxtaposed a line from the film *Darkest Hour* about Hitler with footage of Donald Trump, prompting widespread criticism online.
The Department of Education uploaded a promotional video to X that included a scene from the 2017 movie *Darkest Hour*, where Gary Oldman's Winston Churchill says, “You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth,” a line aimed at Adolf Hitler. The footage immediately switched to clips of Donald Trump over a booming hip-hop soundtrack, prompting social-media users to point out the inadvertent Nazi comparison.
A Community Note added context, and commenters flooded the post with sarcasm, questioning the department’s awareness of the film’s meaning. The criticism was amplified by the Kamala Harris-linked Headquarters account, which mocked the department’s perceived illiteracy. The controversy follows a prior AI-generated promotional image that many mistook for Jeffrey Epstein, later identified as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The Daily Beast has sought clarification from the White House and the Education Department regarding the video's intent.
Why it matters
It shows how a federal agency’s social-media misstep can spark national controversy and raise questions about government communications.
In this story
