In the photos, he appeared to be having the time of his life. In one, he appeared to be screaming while clutching the steering wheel, as if speeding down a highway at breakneck speed. Another showed him clenching both hands into triumphant fists.

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A third showed him wearing an “I ♥ TRUCKS” pin.

Internet comics quickly transformed them into online memes, and a Twitter moment was born.

Many penned short story lines around the photographs.

Others poked fun at the president’s perceived excitement.

Some compared the president to a young child.

https://twitter.com/RPMMAS/status/845044756828839938

Others, meanwhile, invoked various vehicle-centric films, real and imagined. The most popular was “Mad Max: Fury Road,” George Miller’s Oscar-winning film about a high-speed car chase set on a post-apocalyptic Earth.

Inevitably, Photoshopped versions multiplied.

https://twitter.com/kyle_conrad/status/845013029301506048

Some likened these photos to the infamous 1988 photograph of former Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis perched atop an eight-ton M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank at a General Dynamics facility in Sterling Heights, Mich. He wore a helmet bearing his name and a toothy grin. Dukakis, never particularly known for being macho, quickly became the target of ridicule. The New York Times ran a brief story that began, “Forget John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. Forget Rambo. Meet Macho Mike Dukakis. At least that’s what his image makers are struggling to convey.”

Trump tweeted a video from the media event, but it was a bit more flattering than the tweets from these amateur comedians.