The Right Wants to Claim Superman While Tearing Him Down

The release of Superman this weekend has naturally led to a culture war it’s largely managed to avoid before now. But come it has, and the occurrence speaks to how much grifters refuse to engage with art on its actual terms, instead trying to twist it to their own ends.

After Fox News and other prominent alt-right figures tried pretending the DC hero wasn’t an immigrant earlier this week, the White House’s Twittter posted a photoshopped poster of the film with President Donald Trump flying in the air, and the poster’s text was tweaked in support of him. “A Trump presidency: Truth, Justice, and the American Way,” it reads.

THE SYMBOL OF HOPE.

TRUTH. JUSTICE. THE AMERICAN WAY.

SUPERMAN TRUMP. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/fwFWeYonAq

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 11, 2025

That the White House is trying to embrace Superman isn’t particularly surprising; it’s the film’s opening weekend, Superman is the mightiest hero in all of DC, and part of Trump’s perceived appeal is how he speaks to the fantasy of a powerful, masculine man the right wing (and America at large) are constantly in search of.

It’s also not the first time this particular sect has tried to co-opt a specific fictional character or person, either for real or just a quick hit of virality. During the 2018 midterms, the first Trump administration used Game of Thrones memes to sway voters. Before the 2024 election, many musicians asked Trump to stop using their songs for his campaign and eventual win, even going so far as to take matters to court. And whether intended or not, it could be easy to read this as a direct, petty swipe at writer/director James Gunn, who’s had no issue making his feelings on this particular president and white supremacy known through his works.

And yet, this instance carries more significance due to factors such as parallels audiences have made between the film and the continued real-world attacks on Gaza—something Gunn recently claimed was an unintentional move—and coming straight from the White House’s mouth. For as much as this administration and its defenders have complained about the “woke” media plaguing the country, they can’t find it in themselves to not be drawn to the very things that fall under that purview. To them, Superman is a godlike being who cuts a figure in the clouds with menacing laser eyes, the type of figure feared by his enemies and otherwise populated by acolytes.

But DC fans have spent the past decade soured on portrayals like Man of Steel and the one-two video game punch of Injustice and Suicide Squad. Now, they want a version of the hero that radiates hope and optimism, which has since been gradually brought back to the character via Gunn’s movie and Adult Swim’s My Adventures with Superman. From those who’ve come out of the film and liked it, their big takeaway is how Gunn and Warner Bros. finally got him right again and charted a brighter path forward for the burgeoning DC movie universe. That momentum looks like it’ll keep the film in discussion in the weeks and months ahead while likely leaving the White House’s attempt to ride the current wave far behind in the dust.

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