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Penguin Memes Take Flight after Trump Tariffs Remote Island

A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP
A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP
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Penguin Memes Take Flight after Trump Tariffs Remote Island

A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP
A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP

Donald Trump's tariffs have become a black and white issue on social media, where penguin memes have gone viral after he targeted an island inhabited by the flightless birds, but no people.

One widely shared image on Thursday showed a penguin in place of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office during his recent row with the US president and Vice President JD Vance.

Another meme showed US First Lady Melania Trump gazing up at an emperor penguin -- in place of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- while Trump looks askance.

Trump's announcement of worldwide tariffs on Wednesday certainly received an icy reception in many countries.

But there has also been bafflement about why some of the most remote parts of the world have been targeted.

A case in point: why would Trump slap 10 percent tariffs on all exports from the Heard and McDonald Islands, a barren sub-Antarctic Australian territory without a human population, but four different species of penguin?

"The penguins have been ripping us off for years," Anthony Scaramucci, who was Trump's former communications chief for 11 days in his first term and is now a vocal critic, joked on X.

"Donald Trump slapped tariffs on penguins and not on Putin," posted US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, referring to the fact that Russia was not on the US tariff list.

The White House said sanctions on Russia over President Vladimir Putin's war on meant that there was no "meaningful" trade on which to impose tariffs.

Trump also caused puzzlement with his 29 percent tariff on Norfolk Island, a tiny Australian territory in the Pacific with a population of a little over 2,000 humans.

"I'm not quite sure that Norfolk Island, with respect to it, is a trade competitor with the giant economy of the United States," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Britain's remote Falkland Islands -- home to one million penguins, and most famous for a 1982 war fought by Britain to repel Argentinian invaders -- was hit by 41 percent exports even though the UK only faces 10 percent.

Trump's tariffs have however been no laughing matter for global markets, with US stocks suffering their worst day since the Covid pandemic in 2020.

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Varieties

Many US Ice Cream Producers to Phase Out Artificial Food Dyes by 2028

Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Many US Ice Cream Producers to Phase Out Artificial Food Dyes by 2028

Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)

Dozens of US ice cream producers are planning to remove artificial colors from their products by 2028, a dairy industry group and government officials said on Monday.

The producers, which together represent more than 90% of ice cream sold in the US, are the latest food companies to take voluntary steps to remove dyes since Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April said the US aimed to phase out many synthetic dyes from the country's food supply.

Several major food manufacturers, including General Mills, Kraft Heinz, J.M. Smucker, Hershey and Nestle USA, have previously announced their plans to phase out synthetic food coloring.

The 40 ice cream companies will remove Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 from their retail products, excluding non-dairy products, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.

The IDFA announced the plan at an event at the US Department of Agriculture headquarters on Monday with Kennedy, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

"We know that our current health outcomes, especially for our children, are unsustainable and that American agriculture is at the heart of the solution to make America healthy again," Rollins said at the event, referencing a slogan aligned with Kennedy.

Rollins and Kennedy have worked closely together on food sector efforts like encouraging states to ban soda from the nation's largest food aid program.

Kennedy has blamed food dyes for rising rates of ADHD and cancer, an area many scientists say requires more research.

The IDFA said artificial dyes are safe, but that ice cream makers are taking the step in part to avoid disruption to sales from state efforts to phase out dyes from school foods and West Virginia's recent food dye ban.