President Donald Trump posted a meme on his Truth Social platform that sparked widespread discussion and criticism.

The image, a black-and-white depiction of Trump walking down a dark city street, bore the caption “HE’S ON A MISSION FROM GOD & NOTHING CAN STOP WHAT IS COMING,” a phrase co-opted from the 1980 comedy classic The Blues Brothers.

In the background, subtly but unmistakably, was an image of Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character with a fraught history tied to internet culture and, more recently, far-right extremism.

The meme, watermarked by the Truth Social account @FruitSnacks, has reignited debates about Trump’s use of provocative imagery and its implications, particularly given Pepe’s association with the alt-right and the meme’s potential link to a surge in a related cryptocurrency.

According to the Telegraph, the meme’s caption evokes the iconic Blues Brothers line, where characters Jake and Elwood claim divine purpose for their chaotic journey.

However, the inclusion of Pepe the Frog shifts the tone from playful homage to something more contentious. Pepe, created in 2005 by cartoonist Matt Furie for his comic Boy’s Club, began as a benign symbol of slacker culture, embodying a “feels good man” ethos.

By the mid-2010s, however, the character was co-opted by 4chan users and later by alt-right groups, transforming it into a symbol associated with white nationalism, QAnon, and other far-right ideologies.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) added Pepe to its hate symbol database in 2016, though it noted that not all uses of the character are hateful.

Trump’s history with Pepe is not new. In 2015, he retweeted an image of himself as a Pepe-like figure standing at a podium, a move that amplified the character’s political significance during his first presidential campaign.

The meme’s recent appearance, however, comes at a time when Trump’s rhetoric and actions are under heightened scrutiny, particularly following the U.S. Court of International Trade’s rejection of his proposed “Liberation Day” tariffs.

Some interpret the meme as a defiant response to this setback, with the phrase “nothing can stop what is coming” echoing QAnon slogans.

The meme’s origin from a “groyper” account—a term associated with followers of far-right figure Nick Fuentes—further complicates its implications.

Groypers are known for using Pepe imagery and promoting nationalist and conspiratorial narratives, raising questions about whether Trump intentionally signaled to this audience or simply shared a meme without fully grasping its subtext.