'Trumpy Bear' advert ridiculed after strange video airs in Washington

Clip shown on Fox News channel in Washington, but network says no deal for national showing has been made

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Americans have reacted with bemusement at an advert for a teddy bear based on the president of the United States.

The promotional video for the so-called “Trumpy Bear” was aired on a local Fox News channel on Monday, attracting ridicule online,

Many wondered if the bear, which is made in China, was a joke or a real product.

“God bless America, and God bless Trumpy Bear,” one woman says in the video, fondly holding her stuffed toy at her side.

In another shot, Trumpy Bear is shown behind the wind barrier of a motorcycle, cruising down some streets.

“I’m a former Marine, and I’m proud to have Trumpy Bear ride by my side,” the motorcycle driver, a man identified as Michael Rufino, says in the advert.

Trumpy Bear was born on June 14th, the advert says, which is Flag Day in America. The bear is “fearless”, and comes with a broad red tie and an American flag blanket that can be removed from a secret compartment and wrapped about the loving owner of the plush bear.

The advert was spotted on a local Fox News broadcast in the Washington DC area, but was not broadcast nationwide, according to a Fox News spokesperson.

Regardless, the stuffed bear was ridiculed on Twitter.

"WARNING: Do not get Trumpy Bear wet. Even a drizzle will ruin his patriotism," one user wrote, mocking the president's recent decision not to attend a war memorial service in France because of rain.

"What idiot decided to call it Trumpy Bear instead of an I Really Don't Carebear?" another wrote, referencing a coat worn by first lady Melania Trump when she visited children who had been separated from their parents at the border because of the Trump administration.

While naming a stuffed bear “Trumpy” may sound a bit odd, the popular name for stuffed bears, “Teddy”, actually comes from an American president as well.

The first so-called Teddy Bears were actually invented in honour of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, and was done so after the American president refused to shoot a black bear that had been tied to a willow tree. Roosevelt – a big game hunter – thought shooting the bear would be unsportsmanlike, and news of his refusal spread in news articles quickly across the country.

After that story went the equivalent of viral for the early 1900s, a couple in Brooklyn had the idea to make “Teddy’s Bear” in honour of the president, and the toy became a sensation in the US.