The White House has turned one of Nintendo’s most recognizable games into the visual language of a new political social media post, publishing a short video that casts President Donald Trump as the protagonist of a retro Zelda-style adventure.

The video was posted by the official White House account on X on September 9 with the caption “Hey! Listen!”, a phrase closely associated with Navi in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The clip presents a mock title screen reading “The Legend of Trump: Make America Great Again” before showing a low-poly version of Trump moving through an environment styled after the Nintendo 64 era.

Visual elements in the clip closely resemble Ocarina of Time’s presentation, including a heart-based health display, action-button prompts and a map-like interface. Trump is shown approaching the White House and later inside the Oval Office, where the political message shifts from game parody to promotion of the administration’s agenda.

The timing made the reference especially visible. Nintendo held a dedicated The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct on September 8, one day before the White House post. During that presentation, Nintendo revealed new details and gameplay for its rebuilt version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo Switch 2.

Nintendo says the new Ocarina of Time will launch on November 5. The company has described the project as a major rebuild of the 1998 classic, with completely overhauled visuals, fully voiced cutscenes, expanded character dialogue, orchestral music, reworked movement and camera controls, faster loading and other presentation and performance improvements.

That renewed attention around Ocarina of Time gives the White House video a clear cultural context. The post arrived while Zelda was already a major gaming topic, and the parody uses imagery that players can identify without needing the franchise name spelled out in every scene.

There is no indication in the White House post that Nintendo participated in the production or endorsed the political message. At the time of publication, Nintendo had not publicly announced a response to the video. That distinction is important because an official government account using recognizable elements from a commercial entertainment property does not automatically establish that the rights holder approved the use.

The episode also follows a broader push by the White House to use video game references in online political communication. Earlier in September, the administration launched a White House Arcade featuring retro-inspired browser games tied to policy themes. One of those games, Build the Wall, used block-stacking mechanics that drew immediate comparisons to Tetris.

The Tetris Company said it had not participated in the creation of that game and had not authorized or licensed its brand or intellectual property for the project. Build the Wall was later removed from the White House Arcade, although the administration did not publicly state that the company’s objection was the reason for the removal.

The White House’s Zelda-style video is a different format, a short social media parody rather than a playable browser game, so the two situations should not be treated as legally identical. Copyright and trademark questions can depend on the specific material used, the purpose of the use and other facts. The White House post itself does not resolve those questions.

For gaming audiences, the more immediate point is how directly political communication is borrowing from familiar video game culture. Interfaces, title screens, sound cues and recognizable visual styles can communicate a reference almost instantly, even to viewers who are not following a traditional political advertisement.

In this case, the choice of Ocarina of Time is particularly timely. Nintendo is actively celebrating 40 years of The Legend of Zelda, and its new Switch 2 version of Ocarina of Time has returned the 1998 game to the center of franchise discussion. The White House post arrived directly into that renewed attention.

Whether Nintendo responds publicly remains unknown. For now, “The Legend of Trump” stands as another example of a government social media account using the language of games and internet culture to package a political message for online audiences.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Nintendo Direct 6.9.2026

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News story written by Mike Lima.

Source/Further reading:

Primary source/reference link: https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2097480326142443935