Watching your favorite movies abroad? Don’t forget to get your Aeroshield smart DNS to access any geo-restricted content.
Today I learned that it’s not wise to scroll through social media while drinking my morning coffee, courtesy of a spit-inducing image of Donald Trump as an Oompa Loompa that’s currently doing the round on X.
The image in question was taken of the former president while he spoke to reporters on the tarmac of an airport in Wisconsin on October 30. That sounds straightforward enough, were it not for the fact that Trump seems to have reached new levels of orange, having applied an amount of facial bronzer that should be punishable by law.
It doesn’t help matters that Trump is wearing an orange hi-vis vest, as if to give his face some competition, and that the image began circulating during Halloween, the most orange time of the year. Since it seems like the Republican candidate took visual inspiration from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it wasn’t long before the internet quickly did its thing, with users sharing edited versions of the Trump picture in the vein of an Oompa Loompa.
The most notable of these meme-sharers was The View co-host (and noted Trump critic) Ana Navarro-Cárdenas, who shared the image of Trump complete with the green Oompa Loompa hair. It’s worth noting that the inspiration seems borne from the Gene Wilder version, not the absolute nightmare fuel that was Tim Burton’s 2005 adaptation.
“Happy Halloween,” Navarro-Cárdenas captioned the post, followed by two pumpkin emojis that may as well be Trump’s twin brothers. In the broader X feed, the term Oompa Loompa began trending (a big win for the factory worker community), with users sharing side-by-side comparison shots of Trump and his perpetual muses. “Trump is the GOAT if goats look like an Oompa Loompa,” one user wrote of the image, with another describing him as a “deranged full sized oompa loompa who is running for President.”
Others quipped that the former president had “reached peak Oompa Loompa,” or otherwise lamented that the “Oompa Loompa’s campaign continues.” This meme-making feat reminds me of that time a bunch of editing wizards made Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Matt Gaetz front the cover of a ‘Moron 5’ album. Between that and all this Oompa Loompa-mania, my faith in Elon Musk’s X has been restored (at least for now).
While she didn’t stoop to the low-brow internet humor of sharing the edited picture of Trump, Hillary Clinton did join in on the fanfare by posting the original photo. “Wouldn’t it be great to not have to think about this man ever again?” Trump’s former opponent wrote alongside the image, “5 more days.”
While it’s not yet known whether Trump was actually dressing up as an Oompa Loompa for Halloween (a giant inflatable orange might suffice, but he’s already been dressing as that forever), Navarro-Cárdenas’ colleagues actually got in the spooky spirit with a Halloween special episode of The View.
The scariest thing they discussed was not goblins and ghouls, but Trump’s bright orange vest and matching complexion. Later invoking him on social media, Navarro-Cárdenas shared a highlights reel of her greatest Trump takedowns on The View, urging viewers to “vote with dignity.” All of this Oompa Loompa chatter has me craving a nostalgic Willy Wonka rewatch — but not the one with Johnny Depp, obviously.