A savage AI-generated video mocking everyday Americans has gone viral on TikTok— and it’s all thanks to Donald Trump’s latest trade war moves.
With over 600,000 views and climbing, the video paints a bleak (and deeply sarcastic) vision of what life in the U.S. could look like under Trump’s new tariffs, and let’s just say… it’s not exactly ”making America great again.”
”Liberation Day” or new sweatshop era?
It all started on April 2, when Trump proudly unveiled his plan to slap massive tariffs — some over 104% — on goods imported from countries like China.
He dubbed it “Liberation Day,” promising it would restore American jobs and wealth. But China wasn’t having it. They hit back with retaliatory tariffs, and now the internet is responding too — with memes, AI mockery, and a lot of side-eyes.
One of the most talked-about reactions? A TikTok video shared by user @axiang67 that looks like it was whipped up by ChatGPT’s evil twin.
In the clip, an army of overweight, depressed Americans is shown sewing clothes in a dingy factory. Later, others are seen building smartphones with deadpan expressions. The video ends with a haunting twist on Trump’s slogan:
“Make America Great Again.”
Dark? Absolutely. Viral? Oh, yeah.
@axiang67 Make america great again～#tariff #america ♬ 原创音乐 – Ben Lau
Some viewers laughed.
“Amazing. Genius video,” one user commented.
Others were less amused:
”Don’t they already have robots for most of that work?”
”This isn’t what’s going to happen,” another argued.
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But the most biting replies came from Americans themselves:
“Fake… no mobility scooters,” one Reddit user shared.
“Bold to assume anyone can afford those when this day arrives.”
Right-wingers are conflicted
Ironically, right-wing accounts can’t decide whether the sweatshop fantasy is a nightmare or a dream scenario. Some say it’s a glorious return to hard work and “real jobs.” Others point out it feels more like a Black Mirror episode.
One meme even shows a crying finance bro working a sock machine under the watchful eye of a giant Trump portrait with the caption: ”Make the sock.”
(A sentence no one expected to see in 2025.)
Despite the AI meme war, U.S. manufacturing isn’t quite in shambles.
In fact, America has the second-largest manufacturing sector on Earth — producing everything from aircraft to semiconductors. Sure, we’ve outsourced plenty of low-cost labor overseas, but the U.S. hasn’t exactly turned into a giant Etsy sweatshop yet.
Still, critics warn that Trump’s tariff crusade could backfire — hard — by driving up consumer prices, sparking job losses, and pushing lower-income Americans into worse conditions while billionaires profit from the chaos.
For example, Treasury Secretary and former hedge fund bigwig Scott Bessent (yes, really) has suggested federal workers laid off in the shake-up could find joy building widgets in these hypothetical new U.S. factories. Because nothing says upward mobility like becoming a factory drone for the American Dream™.
While Trump’s followers cheer the return of “Made in the USA,” others are asking a harder question: At what cost? If this viral Chinese video is any indication, the world is watching—and roasting—America’s grand reindustrialization fantasy.
And if the future looks like factory lines, gloomy workers, and AI memes dunking on democracy? Well… at least your iPhone won’t say “Made in China.”
