Trump shared footage of the fatal attack at a UK wildlife park before posting an AI-generated clip showing himself wrestling the animal.
TBS Report
14 October, 2026, 11:45 pm
Last modified: 15 October, 2026, 12:26 am
US President Donald Trump has sparked outrage on social media after posting an AI-generated video showing himself wrestling a tiger that killed a man at a wildlife park in the United Kingdom.
Trump first shared footage of the fatal attack on William Chapman at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on his Truth Social account Tuesday night (13 October). The incident occurred on 10 October, reports The Independent.
He captioned the post: "Don't ever mess with nature! President DJT."
The footage showed the tiger clawing and biting Chapman inside the enclosure, but did not show his death. Trump later shared another video featuring animals attacking people before posting the AI-generated clip showing himself chasing the tiger, wrestling it to the ground and dragging it onto its hind legs as both appear to smile.
The posts drew criticism online. The Republicans Against Trump account on X responded to the AI-generated video with "WTF", while another post from the account read: "Someone take Grandpa's phone away."
Political commentator Brian Krassenstein suggested Trump was using the footage to divert attention from domestic issues, writing that the president appeared more interested in posting videos of people being attacked by tigers than discussing election poll numbers. Journalist Andrew Egger also questioned why Trump had shared graphic footage of the fatal attack.
Meanwhile, a health and safety investigation has begun into the incident at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster, where Chapman died after entering the tiger enclosure. The park remained closed on Wednesday for a fifth day following the incident.
Emergency services were called shortly after 1:30pm on 10 October. Police said Chapman had been visiting the park alone. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Chapman was later identified as a former child actor who appeared in television programmes broadcast by the BBC and ITV. According to IMDb, he appeared in ITV's May Contain Nuts alongside actress Shirley Henderson, known for her role in the Harry Potter films, and in the BBC's True Stories series.
He had previously attended Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. In a tribute posted on Facebook, the school said it was deeply saddened by the death of its former student.
"We loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer," the school said.