Is This the 'Eagle Defeating Canada'? White House Faces Embarrassment After Posting Mocking Meme

"A valiant American eagle subduing a Canadian goose?"

Amid a trade war with Canada, the White House has faced embarrassment after posting a photo that appeared to show America's national symbol, an eagle, overpowering Canada's symbol, a goose.

This came after the behind-the-scenes story was revealed: the goose in the photo actually drove off the eagle and won the survival battle.

On August 26 (local time), the White House posted a photo capturing a scene from a nature documentary on its official X (formerly Twitter) account.

The photo captures a moment where a bald eagle pins a large goose to the ground on a frozen lake, gripping its neck with sharp talons.

The White House also added a caption implying that President Donald Trump had secured victory in the trade war against Canada.

This was interpreted as a psychological tactic to provoke Canada amid the bilateral trade war by portraying the bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, subduing Canada's symbol, the goose.

However, this mocking meme immediately faced a backlash on social media.

Comments quickly revealed that the photo the White House shared actually came from a documentary video where the situation ended in the exact opposite way—with a victory for the large goose.

According to some comments, the photo in question is a scene from a documentary filmed on a lake in Ontario, Canada, in February 2025, showing that after a 20-minute standoff, the goose successfully counterattacked the eagle, and the eagle eventually retreated and gave up.

In particular, it remains unclear whether the White House obtained permission regarding copyright from the original creator who filmed the footage at the time, sparking controversy over unauthorized posting.

This mishap also comes at a time when the United States is facing unexpected retaliation in its trade war against Canada.

While the Trump administration opened fired in the trade war by pulling out a 50% tariff bomb against its North American neighbor, Canada has refused to back down, launching a strong counteroffensive with retaliatory tariffs spearheaded by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

(Photo: Capture of the White House X screen, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.