Trump's Meme Mocking Obama Backfires as JD Vance Steals Spotlight Again
Trump reposted an edited image originally shared by his son, Donald Trump Jr., spoofing the notorious 1994 O.J. Simpson police chase. In the meme, Obama is shown riding in the iconic white Ford Bronco, cast as a fugitive. Trump appears behind the wheel of a pursuing police cruiser. Yet the image's viral appeal didn't come from the main figures—it was JD Vance who drew the internet's attention.
Trailing behind in a second squad car is Vance, humorously portrayed with long hair and a youthful, clean-shaven face, resembling his college-era appearance. This version of "long-haired JD Vance" has been a recurring meme ever since his emergence on the national stage, and it once again dominated social media discussions.
The meme followed another provocative post by Trump—an AI-generated video that depicted Obama being arrested in the Oval Office by FBI agents while Trump watched smugly. Shared on Truth Social, the video quickly gained traction and stirred controversy.
These meme-based attacks come as former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has leveled serious allegations against the Obama administration. Gabbard claims she has "overwhelming" evidence that top officials under Obama fabricated the Trump-Russia collusion story following the 2016 election. She states over 100 documents implicate Obama in directing the effort, and she intends to present them to the Department of Justice and FBI.
Though Trump's intent was likely to fuel political criticism of Obama, the internet seems more captivated by JD Vance's retro look, turning a targeted meme into yet another viral distraction.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
22 minutes ago
- Business Times
EU reaches broad tariff deal with US to avert painful trade blow
[LONDON/WASHINGTON] The US and European Union agreed on a hard-fought deal that will see the bloc face 15 per cent tariffs on most of its exports, including automobiles, staving off a trade war that could have delivered a hammer blow to the global economy. The pact was concluded less than a week before a Friday (Aug 1) deadline for US President Donald Trump's higher tariffs to take effect and was quickly praised by several European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who called it 'sustainable'. Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal on Sunday at his golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, although they did not disclose the full details of the pact or release any written materials. 'It's the biggest of all the deals,' Trump said, while von der Leyen added it would bring 'stability' and 'predictability'. The euro advanced over all Group of 10 peers in early Sydney trading, with the spot up 0.3 per cent to 1.1773 after closing up 1 per cent last week. The deal would leave EU exports facing much higher tariffs than the bloc would charge for imports from the US, with von der Leyen saying the aim is to rebalance a trade surplus with the US. But those kinds of tradeoffs in the agreement angered some European industry groups, with Germany's main lobby saying it 'sends a fatal signal to the closely intertwined economies on both sides of the Atlantic'. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Von der Leyen and Trump also differed on some of the key terms of the deal they announced. The US president said the tariff level would apply to 'automobiles and everything else,' but not pharmaceuticals and metals. Steel and aluminium 'stays the way it is', the US president added, and drugs are 'unrelated to this deal'. The chief of the EU's executive arm said later at a news conference that the 15 per cent rate would be all inclusive, would not stack on top of industry-specific tariffs and would cover drugs, chips and cars. Metals duties 'will be cut and a quota system will be put in place,' she said. 'We have 15 per cent for pharmaceuticals. Whatever the decisions later on is, of the president of the US, how to deal with pharmaceuticals in general globally, that's on a different sheet of paper,' von der Leyen said, adding that the overall rate 'is not to be underestimated but it was the best we could get.' The EU agreed to purchase US$750 billion in American energy products, invest US$600 billion in the US on top of existing expenditures, open up countries' markets to trade with the US at zero tariffs and purchase 'vast amounts' of military equipment, Trump said. Von der Leyen said no decisions have been made on European wine and spirits, but the matter would be sorted out soon. Key to getting the 15 per cent rate to apply to pharmaceuticals and semiconductors was the bloc's promise to make US investments, according to sources familiar with the matter. Ahead of the meeting, the EU was expecting a 15 per cent charge on its imports to also apply to most pharmaceuticals. The products had been one of the negotiation's main sticking points. Without a deal, Bloomberg Economics estimated that the total US average effective tariff rate would rise to nearly 18 per cent on Aug 1 from 13.5 per cent under current policies. The new deal brings that number down to 16 per cent. For months, Trump has threatened most of the world with high tariffs with the goal of shrinking the US trade deficits. But the prospect of those duties, and Trump's unpredictable nature, put world capitals on edge. In May, he threatened to impose a 50 per cent duty on nearly all EU goods, adding pressure that accelerated negotiations, before lowering that to 30 per cent. The transatlantic pact removes a major risk for markets and the global economy, a trade war involving US$1.7 trillion worth of cross-border commerce, even though it means European shipments to the US are getting hit with a higher tax at the border. The goals, Trump said, were more production in the US and wider access for American exporters to the European market. Von der Leyen acknowledged part of the drive behind the talks was a reordering of trade, but cast it as beneficial for both sides. 'The starting point was an imbalance,' von der Leyen said. 'We wanted to rebalance the trade we made, and we wanted to do it in a way that trade goes on between the two of us across the Atlantic, because the two biggest economies should have a good trade flow.' The announcement capped off months of often tense shuttle diplomacy between Brussels and Washington. The two sides appeared close to a deal earlier this month when Trump made his 30 per cent threat. The EU had prepared to put levies on about 100 billion euros (S$151 billion), about a third of American exports to the bloc, if a deal was not reached and Trump followed through on his warning. US and European negotiators had been zeroing in on an agreement this past week, and the decision for von der Leyen to meet Trump at his signature golf property brought the standoff to a dramatic conclusion. Officials had discussed terms for a quota system for steel and aluminium imports, which would face a lower import tax below a certain threshold and would be charged the regular 50 per cent rate above it. The EU had also been seeking quotas and a cap on future industry-specific tariffs. The EU for weeks, indicated a willingness to accept an unbalanced pact involving a reduced rate of around 15 per cent, while seeking relief from levies on industries critical to the European economy. The US president has also imposed 25 per cent duties on cars and double that rate on steel and aluminium, as well as copper. Several exporters in Asia, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, have negotiated reciprocal rates between 15 to 20 per cent, and the EU saw Japan's deal for 15 per cent on autos as a breakthrough worth seeking as well. Washington's talks also continue with Switzerland, South Korea and Taiwan. Trump said he is 'looking at deals with three or four other countries', but 'for the most part', others with smaller economies or less significant trading relationships with the US would receive letters simply setting tariff rates. Trump announced a range of tariffs on almost all US trading partners in April, declaring his intent to revive domestic manufacturing, help pay for a massive tax cut and address economic imbalances he has said are detrimental to US workers. He put them on pause a week later when investors panicked. Trump's decades-old complaints about the global trading system heap particularly sharp scorn on the EU, which he has accused of being formed to 'screw' the US. The bloc was established in the years following World War II in order to establish economic stability on the continent. The president has lashed out at non-tariff barriers for American companies to do business across the 27-nation bloc. Those include the EU's value-added tax, levies on digital services, and safety and environmental regulations. Weeks of negotiations tested the EU's willingness to digest what is seen as an asymmetrical outcome, a senior EU diplomat said, but one that offers an opportunity to continue the talks without escalating further. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
US and EU clinch deal with broad 15% tariffs on EU goods to avert trade war
TURNBERRY, Scotland - The United States struck a framework trade deal with the European Union on Sunday, imposing a 15 per cent US import tariff on most EU goods, but averting a spiralling battle between two allies which account for almost a third of global trade. The announcement came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled for talks with US President Donald Trump at his golf course in western Scotland to push a hard-fought deal over the line. 'I think this is the biggest deal ever made,' Trump told reporters after an hour-long meeting with von der Leyen, who said the 15 per cent tariff applied 'across the board'. 'We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability,' she said. The deal, that also includes US$600 billion (S$768 billion) of EU investments in the United States and significant EU purchases of US energy and military equipment, will indeed bring clarity for EU companies. However, the baseline tariff of 15 per cent will be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared to the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal, although it is better than the threatened 30 per cent rate. The deal mirrors parts of the framework agreement the United States clinched with Japan last week. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Sewage shaft failure linked to sinkhole; PUB calling safety time-out on similar works islandwide Singapore Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole did not happen overnight: Experts Singapore Workers used nylon rope to rescue driver of car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole Asia Singapore-only car washes will get business licences revoked, says Johor govt World Food airdropped into Gaza as Israel opens aid routes Sport Arsenal beat Newcastle in five-goal thriller to bring Singapore Festival of Football to a close Singapore Benchmark barrier: Six of her homeschooled kids had to retake the PSLE Asia S'porean trainee doctor in Melbourne arrested for allegedly filming colleagues in toilets since 2021 'We are agreeing that the tariff... for automobiles and everything else will be a straight across tariff of 15 per cent,' Trump said. However, the 15 per cent baseline rate would not apply to steel and aluminium, for which a 50 per cent tariff would remain in place. Trump, who is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old US trade deficits, has so far reeled in agreements with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has failed to deliver on a promise of '90 deals in 90 days.' He has periodically railed against the European Union saying it was 'formed to screw the United States' on trade. Arriving in Scotland, Trump said that the EU wanted 'to make a deal very badly' and said, as he met von der Leyen, that Europe had been 'very unfair to the United States'. His main bugbear is the US merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 reached $235 billion, according to US Census Bureau data. The EU points to the US surplus in services, which it says partially redresses the balance. Trump also talked on Sunday about the 'hundreds of billions of dollars' that tariffs were bringing in. On July 12, Trump threatened to apply a 30 per cent tariff on imports from the EU starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major US trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. The EU had prepared countertariffs on 93 billion euros (S$139 billion) of US goods in the event there was no deal and Trump had pressed ahead with 30 per cent tariffs. Some member states had also pushed for the bloc to use its most powerful trade weapon, the anti-coercion instrument, to target US services in the event of a no-deal. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Truth in the age of AI
AI is causing seismic changes in how we understand what is true and what is not. It can have serious implications for important events such as elections. In today's world, artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed the way we live, work and play. Algorithms power our social media feeds, and bots can make our work more efficient. AI is the ability of machines to think and act like humans by learning, solving problems, and making decisions. With its ability to process and analyse vast amounts of data in seconds, AI has become a powerful tool in sectors like healthcare, finance and banking, manufacturing and supply chains. But as AI proliferates, it is also silently causing seismic changes in how we understand what is true and what is not. The digital world is seeing an explosion of synthetic content that muddies the line between truth and fiction, which can have serious implications for important events such as elections. Deepfakes – hyper-realistic videos created using deep learning – are perhaps the most high-profile example of this. A 2022 deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urging his troops to surrender during the Russia-Ukraine war was widely circulated before being debunked. The minute-long video briefly sowed confusion and panic. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Sewage shaft failure linked to sinkhole; PUB calling safety time-out on similar works islandwide Singapore Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole did not happen overnight: Experts Singapore Workers used nylon rope to rescue driver of car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole Asia Singapore-only car washes will get business licences revoked, says Johor govt World Food airdropped into Gaza as Israel opens aid routes Sport Arsenal beat Newcastle in five-goal thriller to bring Singapore Festival of Football to a close Singapore Benchmark barrier: Six of her homeschooled kids had to retake the PSLE Asia S'porean trainee doctor in Melbourne arrested for allegedly filming colleagues in toilets since 2021 In 2024 during India's general election, political parties 'resurrected' deceased leaders and used deepfake avatars to influence voters . For instance, the former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi, who died in 2018, appeared in AI-generated videos endorsing his son's political run. In Britain, more than 100 deepfake videos featuring then British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ran as ads on Facebook before the 2024 election. The ads appeared to be viewed by 400,000 in a month, and payments for the ads originated overseas. When voters see such manipulated videos making controversial or false statements, it can damage reputations or sway opinions – even after the deepfake is debunked. The threat is not just about altering individual votes – it is about eroding trust in the electoral process altogether. When voters begin to doubt everything they see or hear, apathy and cynicism can take hold, weakening democratic institutions. With its ability to blur the distinction between what is real or not, AI's impact on truth is more insidious than being able to tell black from white, fact from fiction. NewsGuard, a media literacy tool that rates the reliability of online sources, found that by May 2025, more than 1,200 AI-generated news and information sites were operating with little to no human oversight, a number that had increased by more than 20 times in two years. Many of these websites even appeared to be credible. Reliable media organisations have also come under fire for using AI-generated news summaries that are sometimes inaccurate. Apple faced calls earlier in 2025 to remove its AI-generated news alerts on iPhones that were in some instances completely false and 'hallucinated'. In its Global Risks Report 2024, the World Economic Forum said: 'Emerging as the most severe global risk anticipated over the next two years, foreign and domestic actors alike will leverage misinformation and disinformation to further widen societal and political divides.' AI will serve only to amplify those divides through its widespread use by bad actors to spread misinformation that appears to be credible, using algorithms that emphasise engagement, even to those adept at navigating news sites. He heard what sounded like his son crying and fell for the scam Beyond elections and political influence, AI is also being used by scammers to target individuals. Voice cloning technology is increasingly being deployed by fraudsters in impersonation scams. With just a short sample of someone's voice – easily sourced from a TikTok video, a podcast clip, or even a voicemail – AI tools can convincingly replicate it. In India, Mr Himanshu Shekhar Singh fell prey to an elaborate scheme after receiving a phone call from a purported police officer, who claimed that his 18-year-old son had been caught with a gang of rapists and needed 30,000 rupees (S$444) before his name could be cleared. He heard what sounded like his son crying over the phone, and made an initial payment of 10,000 rupees, only to find out that his son was unharmed, and he had been duped. In Hong Kong, the police said that an unnamed multinational company was scammed of HK$200 million (S$32.6 million) after an employee attended a video conference call with deepfake recreations of the company's Britain-based chief financial officer and other employees. The employee was duped into making the transfers following instructions from the scammers. Scammers are also using generative AI to produce phishing e-mails and scam messages that are far more convincing than traditional spam, which is more likely to contain incorrect grammar and suspicious-looking links. Cyber-security firm Barracuda, together with researchers from Columbia University and the University of Chicago, found in a study published on June 18 that 51 per cent of malicious and spam e-mails are now generated using AI tools. The research team examined a dataset of spam e-mails flagged by Barracuda between February 2022 and April 2025. Using trained detection tools, they assessed whether each malicious or unwanted message had been produced by AI. Their analysis revealed a consistent increase in the share of AI-generated spam e-mails starting from November 2022 and continuing until early 2024. Notably, November 2022 marked the public release of ChatGPT. Can AI be a force for good? But just as AI is being used to deceive, it is also being used to defend the truth. For example, newsrooms around the world are increasingly turning to AI to enhance their fact-checking capabilities and stay ahead of misinformation. Reuters, for example, has developed News Tracer, a tool powered by machine learning and natural language processing that monitors social media platforms like X to detect and assess the credibility of breaking news stories in real time. It assigns credibility scores to emerging narratives, helping journalists filter out false leads quickly. Meanwhile, major news organisations like the BBC and The New York Times have collaborated with partners like Microsoft and Media City Bergen under an initiative called Project Origin to use AI to track the provenance of digital content and verify its authenticity. Tech companies are also contributing to efforts to combat the rise of misinformation. Google's Jigsaw unit has developed tools such as 'About this image', which helps users trace an image's origin, and detect whether it was AI-generated or manipulated. Microsoft has also contributed to the fight against deception with its Video Authenticator tool, which detects deepfakes by identifying giveaway signs invisible to the human eye that an image has been artificially generated. For example, in a video where someone's face has been mapped on another person's body, this includes subtle fading or greyscale pixels at the boundary of where the images have been merged. Social media companies are slowly stepping up too. Meta has introduced labels for AI-generated political ads, and YouTube has rolled out a new tool that requires creators to disclose to viewers when realistic content is made with altered or synthetic media. The rise of AI has undeniably made it harder to distinguish fact from fiction, but it has also opened new frontiers for safeguarding the truth. Legislation can establish protective guard rails Whether AI becomes a conduit for clarity or confusion will also be shaped by the guard rails and regulations that governments and societies put in place. To that end, the European Union is a front runner in AI regulation. The EU Artificial Intelligence Act was first proposed in 2021, and approved in August 2024. The legislation classifies AI by risk and places strict rules on systems that affect public rights and democracy. For example, AI such as social scoring systems and manipulative AI is prohibited because of its unacceptable risk. High-risk systems include those that profile individuals to assess their work performance or economic situation, for example. High-risk AI providers need to establish a risk management system and conduct data governance to ensure that testing data sets are relevant and free of errors as much as possible. This helps to address risks that AI poses to truth, especially around misinformation and algorithmic manipulation. Countries such as Singapore, Canada, and Britain have also published governance frameworks or set up regulatory sandboxes to guide ethical AI use. Societies must be equipped to navigate the AI era. Public education on how deepfakes, bot-generated content, and algorithms can skew perception would be essential. When citizens understand how AI-generated misinformation works, they are less likely to be misled. In the EU, media literacy is a core pillar of the Digital Services Act, which requires major online platforms to support educational campaigns that help users recognise disinformation and manipulative content. Finland has integrated AI literacy into its 2025 school curriculum from early childhood to vocational training. The aim is to prepare students for a future where AI is increasingly prevalent and to help them build critical thinking skills and expose them to ethical considerations around AI. But mitigating the impact of AI is not just the job of governments and tech companies – individuals can also take steps to protect themselves from deception. Take care to verify the source of information, especially when it comes through social media. Be wary of sensational photos or videos and the likelihood that the content could have been manipulated. When in doubt, consult trusted news sources or channels. Individuals themselves can also play their part by using AI responsibly – such as avoiding the sharing of unverified content generated by chatbots or image tools. By staying cautious and curious, people can push back against AI-powered misinformation and create a safer digital space. How Singapore tackles AI risks Singapore was among the first few countries to introduce a national AI strategy in 2019, with projects in areas like border clearance operations and chronic disease prediction. But with the rapid development of generative AI that saw the public roll-out of large language models like ChatGPT, the nation updated its strategy in 2023. The National AI Strategy 2.0 focuses on nurturing talent, promoting a thriving AI industry and sustaining it with world-leading infrastructure and research that ensures AI serves the public good. To nurture talent here, Singapore aims to triple its number of AI practitioners to 15,000 by training locals and hiring from overseas. While the nation is eager to harness the benefits of AI to boost its digital economy, it is also wary of the manipulation, misinformation, and ethical risks involved with the technology. To mitigate such risks, the country launched the first edition of the Model AI Governance Framework in January 2019. The voluntary framework is a guide for private sector organisations to address key ethical and governance issues when deploying traditional AI. The framework explains how AI systems work, and how to build good data accountability practices, and create open and transparent communication. The framework was updated in 2020 and then again in May 2024, when the Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI was rolled out, building on the initial frameworks to take into account new risks posed by generative AI. This includes things like hallucinations, where an AI model generates information that is incorrect or not based in reality; and concerns around copyright infringement. To combat such challenges, the framework encourages industry players to offer transparency around the safety and hygiene measures taken when developing the AI tool. This can include bias correction techniques, for instance. The framework also touches on the need for transparency around how AI-generated content is created to enable users to consume content in an informed manner, and how companies and communities should come together on digital literacy initiatives. In the country's recent general election held in May 2025, a new law banning fake or digitally altered online material that misrepresents candidates during the election period was put in place for the first time. In passing the Elections (Integrity of Online Advertising) (Amendment) Bill in October 2024, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said that it does not matter if the content is favourable or unfavourable to any candidate. The publication of misinformation generated using AI during the election, and the boosting, sharing and reposting of existing content, was made an offence. While it was not used during the recent general election, the legal instrument provides a lever to ensure electoral integrity in Singapore. Overall, Singapore is eager to use AI as a driver of growth. In regulating the technology, it prefers an incremental approach, developing and updating voluntary governance frameworks, and drawing sector-specific guidelines instead of an overall mandate. But where there is a risk of AI being used to misinform and manipulate the public, it will not hesitate to pass laws against this happening, as it did ahead of the 2025 General Election. Singapore's governance approach combines strong ethical foundations, industry collaboration, and global engagement to ensure AI is used safely and fairly.
