‘Dark Knight Rises’ Fans React to Donald Trump’s Baffling Parody

Dating back to the early days of comics, the stories explored using superhuman characters often reflected the cultural climate to various degrees. Superman's debut in the '30s, for example, serves as an empowering example of what an immigrant can accomplish, while the X-Men served as an allegory for discrimination in the '60s. That trend continues to this day, with the popularity of superhero films allowing even more opportunities to hold a mirror up to society. While some of these connections are easy to comprehend, a new video from Donald Trump which uses Hans Zimmer's score from The Dark Knight Rises is leaving audiences baffled.

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/diXWQHuyGj

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 9, 2019

Trump released a video to promote his 2020 presidential campaign that is edited in a way that resembles a typical movie trailer, even without having to recognize Zimmer's score from the DC Comics film. The video shares images of those who opposed his campaign, including Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, while also incorporating celebrities who have been outspoken about his presidency, including Rosie O'Donnell and Bryan Cranston. The video also includes interstitial titles about proving people wrong and shots of crowds cheering for him at his rallies.

Regardless of whether or not Dark Knight Rises fans support Trump, fans couldn't help but ponder why, of all films to parody, his marketing team would choose recognizable music from a film in which a villain essentially holds the entire city of Gotham hostage as it descends into chaos. It's also unclear if Trump is meant to represent Bane or Batman, both of which categorically operate in full defiance of authorities.

Scroll down to see what Batman fans are saying about the video on social media.