White House posts AI image of Trump with penguin, mocks Denmark over Greenland after Davos summit

WASHINGTON, DC: The White House on Friday, January 23, shared an AI-generated image on X, apparently mocking the Danes. 

The image showed President Trump heading to icy mountains where the flag of Greenland is waving. He is accompanied by a penguin that is carrying a flag of the US.

The photo was captioned, "Embrace the penguin," likely suggesting Denmark should welcome the bird that is coming to replace Greenland's flag with the US— a symbol of territorial takeover.

WH trolls Danes with AI image of penguin in the Arctic

This digital jab comes at the heels of the Davos summit, where President Trump claimed to have secured a Greenland "framework".

Trump has said the US can do "anything we want" as part of this "concept" that is still being negotiated.

The White House appeared to have used the AI-generated image of Trump and a penguin to troll Denmark and European critics who oppose his plans for the island. 

Even though penguins are not native to Greenland, the administration shared the image to signal that they are moving forward with their Arctic agenda regardless of outside pushback.

This is not the first time the Trump administration has used digital mock-ups to make his point.

On January 20, he had shared an AI image of an American flag planted in the snow with a sign reading "GREENLAND - US TERRITORY EST. 2026," which showed himself, vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio posing with the American Flag.

Another AI image showing European leaders, presenting Trump with a map showing Greenland, Canada and Venezuela covered in the US flag had also been shared earlier.

A pattern of penguins in politics

The same way AI images have been used before, penguins showing up in Trump's political moves is also not new.

Early in 2025, the flightless birds made it to newspaper headlines after Trump imposed tariffs on the "Heard and McDonald Islands" near Antarctica.

The import duties slapped on these remote islands confounded many, as the territories have no human inhabitants. The islands are only home to a thriving population of penguins and seals!

Like the White House's current move, that tariff announcement on penguins had also generated a lot of buzz online.

Trump and NATO’s framework halts Arctic tariffs

While in Davos, Trump met with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Mark Rutte and declared he had reached a "framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland." 

Following the creation of this framework, Trump agreed to remove the tariffs he had previously threatened to impose on Denmark and seven other European nations. 

While flying back to Washington aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters that the US does not need to pay a traditional purchase price for the island under this new arrangement.

"We can do anything we want. We can do military," Trump stated during a press gaggle, without providing further details.

He then added that the US will face no expense except for the "Golden Dome" defense system. 

He mentioned that per the framework under negotiation, the US will work in conjunction with NATO, which he said "is really the way it should be."