About

Don Tzu, also known as Donny Tzu or Donald Trump Sun Tzu Quotes, is an exploitable image macro meme similar to Troll Quotes that parodies the famous Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu, replacing his image with a Chinese-inspired version of U.S. President Donald Trump and adding quotes related to Trump's actions, usually as a way to mock his contentious military strategies, decisions or political moves, humorously portraying him as a mastermind. The memes initially started as a way to jokingly praise Trump's actions among his supporters, but later became more mixed.

The nickname and meme series, which typically uses a grey image of a Sun Tzu-looking Trump against a black background with white text for the quotes (also used in fake Sun Tzu quote memes), dates back to at least 2017 during his first term, but largely went viral online around early 2026 and spread throughout the following year. Additional variations of the meme include a black-and-white photo of Trump wearing an ancient Chinese military helmet, among other images portraying him as Sun Tzu or a Chinese military leader.

Origin

The earliest known use of the nickname "Don Tzu" comes from a tweet posted on June 29th, 2017, by X / Twitter^[1] user DiabolicalIdea, who attributed the quote, "Causing offence is the best from of attack and of distracting attention from your agenda," to "The Art of the War – Don Tzu." However, the tweet received little engagement.

Throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s, the nickname continued to see sporadic use on platforms like Twitter,^[2] but did not see usage alongside a Sun Tzu-inspired image of U.S. President Donald Trump with the quote added next to him until 2023.

On June 27th, 2023, Twitter^[3] user Godfatherparte2 posted one of the earliest examples of Trump depicted as "Don Tzu" in a picture with his quote added in. The quote stated, "Meme them until they cry, then make memes about them crying." The tweet received roughly 1,350 views, 50 likes, 25 retweets and 10 replies in three years.

Spread

Heading into the mid-2020s, the Don Tzu memes garnered more virality, attention and usage as the nickname spread online, eventually solidifying into a more standardized template of a Sun Tzu-looking Donald Trump next to the quote in a single image. The format also spread outside of his supporters, being used by both critics and fans to praise or mock his decisions.

On October 2nd, 2025, X / Twitter^[4] user OfOtherMeans tweeted another variant of Don Tzu, depicting him in a traditional Chinese-style drawing as a reply to a different user mocking liberals for supposedly not understanding meme culture, receiving nearly 10,000 views and 200 likes in a year.

In early 2026, the meme format saw a significant uptick in usage across the internet as it became a way for critics of Trump to mock him for what they perceived as poor leadership and judgment during his second term as president.

For example, on March 10th, 2026, Twitter^[5] user runews shared a version depicting Trump in an old Chinese military helmet and armor alongside the quote, "If you don't know what you are doing, neither does your enemy!" The meme garnered over 677,600 views, 18,000 likes and 260 replies in five months.

On March 16th, Twitter^[6] user thatdayin1992 shared another example using the same format, garnering over 1.3 million views, 32,000 likes and 170 replies in five months.

On March 18th, 2026, Twitter^[7] user Mollyploofkins shared a version using an edited image from the fake Sun Tzu quotes meme format to depict Trump as Tzu, adding the quote, "You can’t lose if you don’t have a goal." The tweet received over 744,500 views, 17,000 likes and 320 replies in five months.

On April 8th, a since-deleted Redditor posted a Greentext about Don Tzu from 4chan to the /r/greentext^[8] subreddit, garnering over 6,200 upvotes and 160 comments before it was deleted.

On April 12th, 2026, during the Iran war with the U.S. and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a since-deleted Redditor posted a meme referencing the current event to the /r/dankmemes^[9] subreddit, receiving nearly 550 upvotes and 20 comments in four months.

On August 18th, Redditor Supkari used the format alongside a real quote from Trump during a recent speech, with the meme garnering over 1,100 upvotes and 70 comments on /r/memes^[10] in 10 days.

Various Examples

Template

Search Interest

External References