In other news, Trump just tried to convince us he’s an Avenger before quoting ‘The Lion King’

Be prepared, it looks like Donald Trump is already experiencing delusions of undemocratic grandeur just one month after being sworn into office. In his latest spot of social media word salad to have alarmed the globe, the POTUS has attacked Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for being a “dictator,” before going on to quote one of Disney’s most notorious tyrants.

In a stunning (if not entirely shocking) political pivot from the U.S.’s support of Ukraine and Zelenskyy under Joe Biden, Trump has made clear he’s on Russia’s side in the ongoing Eastern European conflict. In one of his patented lengthy, syntactically challenged rants on Truth Social, Trump branded Zelenskyy a “modestly successful comedian” for managing to supposedly pull the wool over America’s eyes over the past few years and playing Biden “like a fiddle.” He even dubbed the Ukrainian leader a “Dictator without Elections.”

Then, a few hours later, displaying the kind of gargantuan hypocrisy and total lack of self-awareness that only he can pull off, Trump returned to Truth Social to toot his own horn. “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED,” he yelled, acting like he’s Iron Man at the end of The Avengers. The worst was yet to come, though, when he added a deeply concerning sign-off. “LONG LIVE THE KING!”

Quoting Scar’s iconic line from The Lion King likely was not Trump’s intention with this quirky little threat to America’s democracy, but Jeremy Irons’ leonine villain can’t help but spring to mind. The way Trump is asking the American people to accept a complete 180 on foreign policy and make friends with Russia does have eerily similarities to when Scar welcomes the hyenas into the Pride Lands, and promises a “great and glorious future” to come from this unsettling partnership (spoilers: it actually all ends in flames).

Just when we didn’t think things could get any weirder, the White House’s X account — an official public platform for the symbol of the American democratic system — went and posted this: a mocked-up magazine poster featuring a grinning Trump wearing a crown. To misquote Billie Eilish, we should never see him in a crown.

"CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"
–President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/IMr4tq0sMB

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 19, 2025

The triple-whammy of Trump declaring himself above the law, unilaterally shifting the country’s international alliances, and then the White House celebrating his ascension to imagined monarch is leaving people mourning for a more normal time, like Simba crying over Mufasa’s body.

I mean, there’s not a whole lot of wiggle room here for misinterpretation.

Republicans: Stop overreacting and calling Trump a king

Literally the White House twitter account: https://t.co/oMKZWIsul4

— David Hogg 🟧 (@davidhogg111) February 19, 2025

Not to confuse franchises, but there’s a Game of Thrones quote that feels relevant right now…

"Any man who must say, 'I am the king' is no true king."
—Tywin Lannister#congestionpricing #NYC #LongLiveTheKing #Trump pic.twitter.com/Fb5rPQvitK

— Maester Danavon (@MaesterDanavon) February 19, 2025

Governor of New York Kathy Hochul had a particularly stirring response to Trump’s declaration. “New York hasn’t labored under a king for over 250 years, and we’re sure as hell not going to start now,” she said at a press coverage, to much cheer and applause.

Governor of New York Kathy Hochul delivers a Big Apple blow to Donald Trump:

“Donald Trump isn't a "king" and we won't let him use New Yorkers as roadkill on his revenge tour.

We’ll see him in court.”

pic.twitter.com/rAx8swTY3S

— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) February 20, 2025

Trump supporters, meanwhile, like to claim that he’s merely deliberately “trolling” democrats and there’s no real reason for concern. That’s despite the endless executive orders he’s dropping left, right, and center, bending the system to his will one tweak at a time. And clearly he’s seeing himself as an unquestioned ruler more and more lately, what with his recent quoting of Napoleon. Huh, there’s a term for that, isn’t there? A “something” complex?

Trump may think his becoming America’s equivalent to a king will lead him to be respected, saluted, and seen for the wonder he thinks he is, but his teeth and ambitions are now bared and those who oppose him have plenty of time to fight back. Take heart: we might be currently living out Act Two of The Lion King (minus the funny parts with Timon and Pumbaa), but eventually we’ll break through and make it to the happier ending. Unless this is the live-action remake, and we’re all too dead-eyed and lifeless to enjoy it.