AI-generated meme mocking Donald Trump and Elon Musk working in factory goes viral in China amid trade war

An AI-generated video of Donald Trump and his MAGA team working in a factory has gone viral after the tariff war between China and America rumbles on.

In the latest twist, China has raised tariffs on US goods from 84 percent to 125 percent, in response to Trump's trade announcement on Wednesday (9 April).

Earlier his week, the POTUS said he would temporarily pause tariffs for other countries, while raising tariffs on China to 145 percent.

China has now hit back today (11 April) with a countermeasure of their own, increasing tariffs on American goods by 41 percent.

“If the US insists on continuing to substantially infringe on China’s interests, China will resolutely counter and fight to the end,” warned a Chinese Finance Ministry spokesman.

As the political trade battle between the two largest economies continues, the internet has reacted by poking fun at Trump's cabinet.

A now-viral video shared across social media shows Trump, Elon Musk, JD Vance and others, in a factory making trainers.

The relevance of the AI-generated clip relates to the fact that 62 percent of the shoes sold in the US are imported from China.

Dressed in a blue jumpsuit, the MAGA squad are busy at work, attaching black laces to the black sneakers.

Over in the comments, one viewer joked: "The shoes will all be rejected by quality control for being a poor standard."

"First time I see them concentrated on something! Progress," another penned.

"All them put together couldn't tie a shoe lace. Don't give them so much credit," someone else quipped.

This comes after a founder of a luxury shoe brand called the tariffs 'ridiculous', stating that they 'make no sense'.

"Small businesses like mine have to pay these tariffs, and it’s not a small thing," Devlin Carter, the founder of SIA collective - which manufactures shoes mostly in China - told NBC News.

"It’s a lot. So there’s no way to see this as something that’s good — for anybody. And it’s all unnecessary."

Pepper Harward, chief executive officer of Oka Brands, which has a factory in Georgia, also told Footwear News: "The footwear ecosystem doesn't really exist here.

"Everybody's interested in US manufacturing but very few people are fully committed to it or have solid justifications for making investments there."

But with Trump making it virtually impossible to import products into the US from China, it seems like something's got to give.