A Russian state-owned news outlet released a satirical holiday video spoofing President Trump.
The video, released by RT on Monday, is titled “Russian Spies in the White House?” and shows a fake Trump opening presents in the Oval Office sent to him by other world leaders.
“It’s difficult to find a good present for the leader of the free world,” RT wrote. “We, at RT, have invoked our inner SNL [Saturday Night Live] writer to imagine what Donald Trump will find under the Christmas tree, where there is one box from us, this year.”
In the video, Trump begins by opening a gift from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has given him small gold busts of the two leaders.
The bust of Kim goes into the trash.
Then, Trump opens his next gift: A “Make America Great Again” hat complete with a “Made in China” label. The president slams it down in protest.
He then opens a gift labeled “From Saudi King,” which is a gold crown he immediately puts on, and then flexes in a mirror ornament.
Finally, Trump opens a gift that is not labeled, but contains a T-shirt that says: “Do you work for the GRU? [Russian Military Intelligence]” in Russian.
In the final scene, first lady Melania Trump is wearing the shirt, and the president is in bed on an iPad.
“Melania, you’re from somewhere over there,” Trump says in the video. “What does that T-shirt say?”
“Yes, Donald,” the video’s Melania responds. “It says ‘Make America Great Again,’ what else?”
Trump chuckles in happiness.
In the post, RT writes a disclaimer that the clip is satirical: Trump is played by an actor, RT says, and adds that they “have no damn idea what the First Lady wears in private with her husband.”
The news outlet links to its shop, where the GRU shirt is available for purchase.
RT, formally known as Russia Today, has been described as a propaganda outlet for the Russian government. In September 2017, RT America was ordered to register as a “foreign agent” with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
In the paperwork, RT America acknowledges that its parent company, T&R Productions, is financed by a foreign government.
More than 400 companies or other entities are currently registered with the Justice Department under the act, either as a primary registrant or as a foreign principal. China’s Xinmin Evening News is registered, for example.
