# Don Tzu Don Tzu, also known as Donald Trump Sun Tzu Quotes, is an image macro that swaps philosopher Sun Tzu with a Chinese-styled portrait of Donald Trump paired with mock Art of War quotes. The nickname first surfaced on Twitter in 2017, but the visual format went viral in early 2026 as critics of Trump's second term used it to ridicule his military and political decisions. ## Origin The earliest known use of the nickname 'Don Tzu' comes from a June 29, 2017 tweet by X user DiabolicalIdea, who attributed the fake quote 'Causing offence is the best from of attack and of distracting attention from your agenda' to a fictional 'Art of War' by 'Don Tzu'[1]. The tweet pulled little engagement, and the nickname only saw sporadic Twitter usage for years afterward. The image-plus-quote template did not appear until June 27, 2023, when Twitter user Godfatherparte2 posted an early example depicting Trump styled as Don Tzu with the caption 'Meme them until they cry, then make memes about them crying,' pulling roughly 1,350 views and 50 likes over three years[2]. - **Platform:** X / Twitter (viral spread on Twitter and Reddit) - **Creator:** DiabolicalIdea (nickname); Godfatherparte2 (image format) - **Date:** 2017 ## Overview The format typically pairs a grey Sun Tzu-styled portrait of Trump against a black background with white text quotes, mirroring the fake Sun Tzu quote template long used on social media[4]. Common variations include a black-and-white photo of Trump wearing an ancient Chinese military helmet and armor, and traditional-style ink drawings casting him as a Chinese general[3]. The quotes range from absurd made-up Trump-isms styled as strategy to actual lines he said during speeches, presented as if they were ancient wisdom[10]. Tone shifts depending on who is posting. Early examples cast Trump as a genius mastermind for his supporters, with lines like 'Meme them until they cry, then make memes about them crying'[2]. By 2026, the format flipped, and critics used the same aesthetic to mock what they saw as poor leadership, most visibly during the U.S. war with Iran[9]. ## How It Spread Usage inched upward through 2025. On October 2, 2025, X user OfOtherMeans posted a traditional Chinese-style illustration of Trump-as-Tzu in reply to a tweet mocking liberals for missing meme culture, pulling around 10,000 views and 200 likes[3]. The visual template only standardized into a portrait-plus-quote layout by late that year[4]. Usage jumped in early 2026 as critics remixed the format to mock Trump's second-term decisions. On March 10, 2026, Twitter user runews shared a version showing Trump in ancient Chinese armor with the line 'If you don't know what you are doing, neither does your enemy!' pulling over 677,600 views and 18,000 likes[5]. Six days later, user thatdayin1992 pushed a similar entry past 1.3 million views and 32,000 likes[6]. On March 18, Mollyploofkins swapped a fake Sun Tzu image for Trump and added 'You can't lose if you don't have a goal,' reaching 744,500 views[7]. Reddit picked it up in April. A since-deleted /r/greentext post about Don Tzu from 4chan pulled over 6,200 upvotes on April 8, 2026[8]. Four days later, a /r/dankmemes post tied the format to the U.S. war with Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz[9]. On August 18, Redditor Supkari ran a version pairing the format with a real Trump quote from a recent speech, pulling over 1,100 upvotes on /r/memes in ten days[10]. ## How to Use To make a Don Tzu meme, pair a Sun Tzu-styled portrait of Trump, typically the grey Chinese-general edit against a black background, with a fake 'Art of War' quote written in white text[4]. The quote can be absurd made-up Trump-speak dressed as strategy, or a real Trump line presented as ancient wisdom[10]. Common alternate visuals include Trump in ancient Chinese helmet and armor, or ink-drawing style illustrations casting him as a Chinese military leader[5]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Don Tzu? Don Tzu is an exploitable image macro that swaps ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu with a Chinese-styled portrait of Donald Trump paired with a fake 'Art of War' quote, used to mock or praise Trump's military and political decisions[4]. ### Where did Don Tzu come from? The nickname first appeared in a June 29, 2017 tweet by X user DiabolicalIdea[1], and the image-plus-quote format was popularized by Twitter user Godfatherparte2 in June 2023[2]. ### What does Don Tzu mean? The name is a mash-up of 'Donald' and 'Sun Tzu' that casts President Donald Trump as the ancient Chinese general and philosopher behind The Art of War[1]. ### How do you use Don Tzu? People typically add a fake or real Trump quote in white text next to a Chinese-styled image of Trump, framing it as timeless military wisdom, as Mollyploofkins did with 'You can't lose if you don't have a goal' in March 2026[7]. ### Is Don Tzu still popular? The format went viral in early 2026 and still saw posts as recent as August 2026, including a version by Redditor Supkari that pulled over 1,100 upvotes on /r/memes[10]. ## References 1. [https://x.com/DiabolicalIdea]() 2. [https://x.com/Godfatherparte2]() 3. [https://x.com/OfOtherMeans]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/don-tzu]() 5. [https://x.com/runews]() 6. [https://x.com/thatdayin1992]() 7. [https://x.com/Mollyploofkins]() 8. [https://www.reddit.com/r/greentext/]() 9. [https://www.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/]() 10. [https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/don-tzu Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library