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Skechers to be acquired by 3G Capital in take-private deal, shares soar 25%

Footwear giant Skechers has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm 3G Capital for $63 per share, ending its nearly three-decade run as a public company, the retailer announced Monday.

The price 3G Capital agreed to pay represents a 30% premium to Skechers’ current valuation on the public markets, which is in line with similar takeover deals. Shares of Skechers soared more than 25% after the transaction was announced.

“With a proven track-record, Skechers is entering its next chapter in partnership with the global investment firm 3G Capital,” Skechers’ CEO, Robert Greenberg, said in a news release.

“Given their remarkable history of facilitating the success of some of the most iconic global consumer businesses, we believe this partnership will support our talented team as they execute their expertise to meet the needs of our consumers and customers while enabling the Company’s long-term growth,” he said.

The transaction comes at a difficult time for the retail industry and in particular, the footwear sector, which relies on discretionary spending and overseas supply chains that are now in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s trade war. 

Last week Skechers signed onto a letter penned by the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America trade group asking for an exemption from Trump’s tariffs.

And, a little over a week ago, Skechers withdrew its full-year 2025 guidance “due to macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from global trade policies” as companies brace for a drop in consumer spending that will disproportionately impact the footwear and apparel sectors. 

Skechers declined to say how much of its supply chain is based in China, which is currently facing 145% tariffs, but cautioned that two-thirds of its business is outside of the U.S. and therefore won’t see as much of an impact. 

A source close to the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic details said the trade environment didn’t force Skechers into a deal and that 3G Capital had been interested in acquiring the company for years.

Tariffs do present some uncertainty in the short term, but 3G Capital believes the long-term outlook of Skechers’ business remains attractive and is well positioned for growth, the person said.

Skechers is the third-largest footwear company in the world behind Nike and Adidas.

Greenberg will stay on as Skechers’ CEO and continue enacting the company’s strategy after the acquisition is completed.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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Investing

How to Invest in Rare Earth Metals

Investing in rare earth minerals can seem tricky, but there are a variety of rare earth stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) available for metals investors.

The rare earth sector may seem daunting, as many elements fall under the umbrella, and the 17 rare earth elements (REEs) are as diverse as they are challenging to pronounce.

The group is made up of 15 lanthanides, plus yttrium and scandium, and each element has different applications, pricing and supply and demand dynamics. Sound complicated? While the REE space is undeniably complex, many investors find it compelling and are interested in finding ways to get a foot in the door.

Read on for a more in-depth look at the rare earth metals market and the many different types of rare earth minerals, plus rare earth stocks and ETFs you can invest in.

In this article

    What are the types of rare earth minerals?

    There are a number of ways to categorize and better understand rare earths, which will help you know which companies to invest in based on what they’re targeting.

    For example, they are often divided into “heavy” and “light” categories based on atomic weight. Heavy rare earths are generally more sought after, but light REEs are important too.

    Rare earths can also be grouped together according to how they are used. Rare earth magnets include praseodymium, neodymium, samarium and dysprosium, while phosphor rare earths — those used in lighting — include europium, terbium and yttrium. Cerium, lanthanum and gadolinium are sometimes included in the phosphor category as well. For a detailed breakdown of rare earth uses, check out our guide.

    One aspect that is common to all the rare earths is that price information is not readily available — like other critical metals, rare earth materials are not traded on a public exchange. That said, some research firms do make pricing details available, usually for a fee, including Strategic Metals Invest, Fastmarkets and SMM.

    What factors affect supply and demand for rare earths?

    As mentioned, each REE has different pricing and supply and demand dynamics.

    However, there are definitely overarching supply and demand trends in the sector. Most notably, China accounts for the vast majority of the world’s supply of rare earth metals. As the world’s leading producer, the Asian nation accounted for roughly 70 percent of rare earths production in 2024, or 270,000 metric tons (MT), with the US coming in a very distant second at 45,000 MT. After the US, Myanmar is the third largest rare earths producer with total output of 31,000 MT last year. On top of that, China is also responsible for 90 percent of refined rare earths output.

    The strong Chinese monopoly on rare earths production has created problems in the sector in the past. For instance, prices in the global market spiked in 2010 and 2011 when the country imposed export quotas.

    The move sparked a boom in global rare earth metals exploration outside of China, but many companies that entered the space at that time fell off the radar when rare earths prices eventually sank again. Molycorp, once North America’s only producer of rare earths, is a notable example of how hard it is for companies to set up shop outside China. It filed for bankruptcy in 2015. But the story didn’t end there — MP Materials (NYSE:MP), the company that now owns Molycorp’s assets, went public in mid-2020 in a US$1.47 billion deal, and a year later was a US$6 billion company.

    MP Materials is now the western hemisphere’s largest rare earths miner, putting out high-purity separated neodymium and praseodymium oxide; a heavy rare earths concentrate; and lanthanum and cerium oxides and carbonates.

    Concerns about China’s dominance are ongoing as the US/China trade war continues and as supply chain stability grows in importance. The Asian nation has tightly controlled how much of its rare earths products make it into global markets through a quota system initiated in 2006.

    US President Donald Trump’s high tariffs targeting Chinese goods has resulted in China enacting further rare earth export restrictions. In April 2025, the Government of China placed strict export controls on samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium — all crucial for the production of electric vehicles, smartphones, fighter jets, missiles and satellites.

    Sharing a border with China, Myanmar is the source of at least 70 percent of its neighbor’s medium to heavy rare earths feedstock. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that a temporary halt in Myanmar’s production in late summer of 2023 sent rare earths prices to their highest level in 20 months, as per OilPrice.com.

    Myanmar’s rare earths production experienced further disruptions in late 2024 as the Kachin Independence Army seized two towns in Kachin state, near China’s Yunnan province, that are critical suppliers of rare earth oxides to China.

    Outside of China, one of the world’s leading rare earths producers is Australian company Lynas (ASX:LYC,OTC Pink:LYSCF), which sends mined material for refining and processing at its plant in Malaysia. In 2023, Japan Australia Rare Earths, a joint venture between the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security and Sojitz (TSE:2768), inked an agreement to invest AU$200 million in the production and supply of heavy rare earths from Lynas.

    This has allowed the mining company to expand its light rare earths production and begin production of heavy rare earths. Lynas brought its large-scale downstream Kalgoorlie rare earths processing facility online in November 2024. According to its H1 2025 fiscal year results, the company’s neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) production volume increased by 22 percent.

    In the US, MP Materials is making good use of US$58.5 million awarded in April to support construction of the first fully integrated rare earth magnet manufacturing facility in the US. The funding is part of the Section 48C Advanced Energy Project tax credit granted by the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Treasury and Department of Energy.

    The Fort Worth, Texas, magnet facility began producing the NdFeB magnets crucial for EVs, wind turbines and defense systems at the start of 2025. First commercial deliveries are expected by the end of the year.

    Looking at demand, many analysts believe the need for rare earths is set to boom on accelerating growth from top end-use categories, including the electric vehicle market and other high-tech applications.

    As an example, demand for dysprosium, a key material in steel manufacturing and the production of lasers, has grown as countries increase their steel standards. Aside from that, rare earths have long been used in televisions and rechargeable batteries, two industries that accounted for much demand before the proliferation of new technologies. Other rare earth metals can be found in wind turbines, aluminum production, catalytic converters and many high-tech products.

    As can be seen, securing rare earths supply is an increasingly important issue. In addition to traditional rare earths mining, there has been growth in the rare earths recycling industry, which aims to recover REE raw materials from electronics and high-tech products in order to reuse them in new ways.

    Exploring and extracting rare earth materials from deep-sea mud is one of the newest recovery methods, although deep sea mining of mud and nodules comes with significant environmental concerns. However, it is gaining traction as more mining companies look offshore for resources and US President Trump pushes for fast tracking of deep-sea mining permits.

    How to invest in rare earth minerals

    Investors are increasingly wondering how they can invest in rare earth metals as demand ramps up and the US-China trade war has caused further concerns about rare earth supply chains. The possibility of higher rare earth prices in the coming years is one of the catalysts for investors wondering how they can invest in rare earths. As it’s not possible to buy physical rare earth metals, the most direct way to invest in the rare earth market is through mining and exploration companies.

    Investing in rare earth stocks

    While many rare earth minerals companies are located in China and are not publicly traded, there are a variety of rare earth companies listed on US, Canadian and Australian stock exchanges.

    Below is a selection of companies with rare earths assets or operations trading on the NYSE, NASDAQ, TSX and ASX; all had market caps of over $500 million as of April 22, 2025.

      Small-cap REE companies are also listed on those exchanges.

      Here’s a hefty list of junior rare earths stock and companies with rare earths projects. The rare earths stocks on this list had market caps between $5 million and $500 million as of April 22, 2025:

        To learn more about investing in rare earths, check out our stocks lists on the 9 Biggest Rare Earth Stocks in the US, Canada and Australia, Top Canadian Rare Earths Stocks, and the 5 Biggest ASX Rare Earth Stocks.

        Investing in rare earth ETFs

        Rare earth exchange-trade funds (ETFs) offer investors a diversified position in this market space, mitigating the risks of investing in specific companies.

              Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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              This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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              World

              Japan and China accuse each other of violating airspace near disputed islands

              Japan and China have accused each other of violating the airspace around the Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands, which Beijing also claims.

              The latest territorial flap came as both appeared to have warmer ties while seeking to mitigate damages from the US tariff war.

              Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement it lodged a “very severe protest” with Beijing after a Chinese helicopter took off from one of China’s four coast guard boats, which had entered Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands. The helicopter violated Japanese airspace for about 15 minutes on Saturday, the ministry said.

              The statement called the incident an “intrusion … into Japan’s territorial airspace” and urged the Chinese government to ensure preventive measures.

              Japan’s Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets in response, according to the Defense Ministry.

              China also protested to Tokyo over a Japanese civilian aircraft violating its airspace around the islands, saying it was “strongly dissatisfied” about Japan’s “severe violation of China’s sovereignty,” according to a statement by the Chinese Embassy in Japan late Saturday.

              China Coast Guard said it “immediately took necessary control measures against it in accordance with the law” and dispatched a ship-borne helicopter to warn and drive away the Japanese aircraft.

              Japanese officials are investigating a possible connection between the Chinese coast guard helicopter’s airspace intrusion and the small Japanese civilian aircraft flying in the area around the same time.

              China routinely sends coast guard vessels and aircraft into waters and airspace surrounding the islands, which China calls the Diaoyu, to harass Japanese vessels in the area, forcing Japan to quickly mobilize its jets.

              Saturday’s intrusion was the first by China since a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft violated the Japanese airspace off the southern prefecture of Nagasaki in August. Chinese aircraft have also violated the Japanese airspace around the Senkaku twice in the past.

              This post appeared first on cnn.com

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              Pope Francis’s popemobile set to become health clinic for Gaza children

              One of Pope Francis’s “popemobiles” is being transformed into a mobile healthcare unit for children and sent to the Gaza Strip, the Vatican’s official media outlet said on Sunday.

              In one of his final wishes before his passing, Francis entrusted the popemobile used during his 2014 pilgrimage of the Holy Lands to the Catholic aid network Caritas Jerusalem, Vatican News said, to help respond to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

              Francis asked that the vehicle be used to help injured and malnourished children in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

              Caritas are converting the vehicle into a mobile health station by retrofitting it with medical equipment for diagnosis, examination, and treatment of children, and other life-saving supplies.

              Staffed with doctors and medics the new clinic on wheels will be sent to communities that lack access to functioning healthcare facilities, once safe access to Gaza is feasible, Caritas said.

              “It’s not just a vehicle, it’s a message that the world has not forgotten about the children in Gaza,” Peter Brune, secretary general of Caritas Sweden, said in a statement.

              World peace was a core message throughout Francis’ pontificate, with him having called for ceasefires of both the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars on multiple occasions, the final of which was on Easter Sunday – the day before his death.

              Francis had been making near-nightly calls to the Holy Family Church – Gaza’s only Catholic church – which had been serving as a de facto shelter for its community of worshippers and some Muslims throughout Israeli military campaigns that followed the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas.

              He had also controversially installed a Nativity scene during Christmas festivities depicting a baby Jesus swaddled in a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian garment now heavily associated with pro-Palestine movements and activism, which the Vatican removed from display shortly after it was put on display.

              The Conclave that will vote for Francis’ successor assembles on Wednesday.

              This post appeared first on cnn.com

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              Operation to recover sunken Bayesian superyacht begins off coast of Italy

              Marine salvage experts on Sunday began operations to recover from the seabed off Italy’s Sicilian coast the British-flagged superyacht “Bayesian,” which sank last summer, killing UK tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others.

              Operations will be conducted by two floating cranes: “Hebo Lift 2,” which has remotely operated underwater equipment and vehicles, and “Hebo Lift 10,” one of the most powerful maritime cranes in Europe, which docked Saturday in the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese after arriving from Rotterdam.

              The Italian coast guard is supervising operations and patrolling the security perimeter to ensure the safety of personnel working on the recovery. It said that the overall operation to retrieve the Bayesian could take from 20 to 25 days. After the wreck is brought ashore, judicial authorities investigating the sinking will examine it.

              Prosecutors are investigating the captain and two crew members for possible responsibility in connection with the August 19, 2024, sinking. The 56-meter (183-foot)-long, 473-ton yacht sank during what appears to have been a sudden downburst, or localized powerful wind from a thunderstorm that spreads rapidly after hitting the surface.

              The yacht’s 75-meter (246-foot) aluminum mast – the second tallest in the world — will be cut to allow the hull, which lies 49 meters (160 feet) below the surface, to be brought to the surface more easily, said coast guard Capt. Nicola Silvestri.

              In addition to Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and wife Judy, attorney Chris Morvillo and wife Neda, and ship’s cook Recaldo Thomas died in the shipwreck.

              With the help of nearby vessels, 15 of the 22 people were rescued in the initial phase, one body was recovered, and six others reported missing. The bodies of the six missing people were found following long and complex search efforts, which continued until August 23.

              This post appeared first on cnn.com

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              Deported from Florida to Cuba, this mom saw her 17-month-old US daughter – and her American dream – ripped away

              In a dilapidated home on the outskirts of Havana, Heidy Sánchez shows off photos from a past life.

              She flips though images on her iPhone of visits to Sea World with her husband and 17-month-old daughter and the couple dressing up in Santa attire for Christmas.

              “I don’t know if it was the American dream,” Sánchez said. “But it was my dream, my family.”

              That dream and family were ripped away in late April when Sánchez was deported from Florida to her native Cuba, even though both her daughter and husband are US citizens.

              Sánchez crossed into the US from Mexico in 2019 when the first Trump administration required asylum seekers to wait on the other side of the border for immigration appointments as part of the “Remain in Mexico” program.

              But Claudia said threats from cartels, which often target Cubans for kidnappings and extortion, prevented her from making her appointment. When she finally did cross the border again she told immigration agents her life was at risk in Mexico and she was allowed to stay. After nine months in immigration custody, she was released and able to join her family in Tampa.

              There she studied to become a nursing assistant, met her husband, a naturalized US citizen also from Cuba, and after several in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments, finally realized her dream of becoming a mom.

              Sánchez maintains she hardly fits the stereotype of the dangerous undocumented immigrants that the Trump administration says it is taking off US streets.

              “I never had so much as a ticket,” she said.

              Still, with the immigration hearing she had missed in 2019 and the changing political fortunes for Cuban immigrants who previously had residency in the US all but guaranteed, Sánchez’s time in the US was running out.

              In April, Sánchez was contacted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that an appointment she had with officers was being moved up to the next day. Still, her attorneys told her it was likely a routine check-in. Instead, when she showed up for the appointment with her daughter Kailyn and an attorney, ICE agents told her she was being taken into custody and to hand over her daughter to relatives.

              “Call the father to come get her, you are staying here,” Sánchez said the agents informed her.

              ‘Don’t take away my daughter’

              In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security denied Sánchez and her attorney’s accounts that she was not given the option to take her daughter with her.

              “We take our responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to ensure that children are safe and protected,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

              “The Trump administration is giving parents in this country illegally the opportunity to self deport and take control of their departure process with the potential ability to return the legal, right way and come back to live the American dream,” the statement continued.

              Sánchez’s attorney said they tried to stop her deportation by arguing that her removal would hurt her daughter, who she was breast feeding and has suffered seizures. But two days later, as Sánchez’s attorneys were requesting a hearing in the case, she was already in the air on a deportation flight to Havana.

              Cañizares said the manner in which Sánchez was repeatedly moved from different ICE facilities – making it impossible to see her client – before her fast-track deportation was “shady.”

              Now any possible legal avenue for Sánchez to return to the US could likely take years, Cañizares said. Sánchez and her family are hoping that backlash to her story could lead to enough public support – particularly among the Cuban-American community that supported Trump in the 2024 presidential race – to enable a reunification.

              “The Trump administration is ripping families apart for political games,” US Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) posted on X along with a photo of her meeting Sánchez’s husband Carlos.

              “We are pursuing every action to reunite this family and unfortunately are still waiting for a response from the White House to explain their illegal actions,” she posted.

              As controversy swirls around her case, Sánchez is struggling to adapt to the dire situation in Cuba where daily power outages and increasing scarcities have made life even tougher on the island than when she left six years ago.

              She lives in a house with relatives where parts of the ceiling are caving in and electricity is cut for hours each day. The cell reception from the one state-run provider is so spotty in the area she either has to walk several blocks away or scale up to the roof of the house to call her husband and daughter.

              Her family is only a 90-minute flight away but for the immediate future remains agonizingly out of reach.

              “I have to pump milk which should feed my daughter and throw it in the trash,” Sánchez said. “That hurts me so much to do.”

              She worries constantly about her young daughter who has trouble sleeping and has suffered convulsions again following her mother’s deportation.

              “Her father puts recordings of me singing to her so that she can sleep,” Sánchez said. “I am suffering but I know my girl is suffering more.”

              This post appeared first on cnn.com

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              Trump renews threat of military force to annex Greenland

              President Donald Trump has renewed his threat of using military force to annex Greenland, saying in an NBC News interview he wouldn’t rule it out to make the self-governing Danish territory a part of the United States.

              It’s the latest in Trump’s many comments about seizing control of the resource-rich island, which he insists the US needs for national security purposes.

              “I don’t rule it out,” he told NBC News’ Kristen Welker in an interview that aired on Sunday. “I don’t say I’m going to do it, but I don’t rule out anything.”

              “We need Greenland very badly,” Trump said. “Greenland is a very small amount of people, which we’ll take care of, and we’ll cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for international security.”

              He added that he doubted it would happen – but that the possibility is “certainly” there.

              Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in buying the island, or the US taking it by force or economic coercion, even as NATO ally Denmark and Greenland have firmly rejected the idea.

              There are a few factors driving that interest; Greenland occupies a unique geopolitical position, sitting between the US and Europe, which could help repel any potential attack from Russia, experts have said. It also lies along a key shipping lane, and is part of the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap, a strategic maritime region.

              But experts also suspect Trump is eyeing other aspects of Greenland such as its trove of natural resources, which may become more accessible as climate change melts the territory’s ice. These include oil and gas, and the rare earth metals in high demand for electric cars, wind turbines and military equipment.

              Since Trump began voicing plans for his presidency in December, his desire to annex Greenland has raised questions about the island’s future security as the US, Russia and China vie for influence in the Arctic.

              But Greenland has pushed back strongly.

              “President Trump says that the United States ‘will get Greenland.’ Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else. We decide our own future,” the island’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in March after Trump again suggested the use of military force.

              Greenland’s not the only sovereign territory Trump has his sights on; the president has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and make it the US’ “51st state,” souring relations between the two longtime allies.

              Last week, Canada’s Liberal Party swept to victory in federal elections, with Prime Minister Mark Carney riding on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment and using his victory speech to declare Canada would “never” yield to the United States.

              During the NBC interview on Sunday, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he’d use military force to annex Canada.

              “I don’t see it with Canada. I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you,” he said.

              He added that he’d talked on the phone with Carney after his election win, calling the Canadian leader a “very nice man.” Trump had congratulated Carney, but they did not discuss the threat of annexation of Canada, he said.

              Carney is set to visit Trump in Washington on Tuesday. When asked whether the topic would come up during that visit, Trump responded: “I’ll always talk about that.”

              If Canada was a state, “it would be great,” Trump added. “It would be a cherished state.”

              This post appeared first on cnn.com

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              Trump says he could ‘walk away’ from Russia-Ukraine talks, cites ‘tremendous hatred’ on both sides

              The U.S. could withdraw from peace talks with Ukraine and Russia if the two sides show no progress, President Donald Trump says.

              Trump made the comments during an interview on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that aired Sunday, telling host Kristen Welker that there is ‘tremendous hatred’ between Ukraine and Russia.

              The president says he remains hopeful a peace deal is possible, but confirmed that the U.S. would not remain a mediator indefinitely.

              ‘I do believe we’re closer with one party. And maybe not as close with the other, but we’ll have to see,’ Trump said. ‘Five thousand soldiers a week on average, are dying. They’re not American soldiers. But I want to solve the problem.’

              ‘How long do you give both countries before you’re going to walk away?’ Welker asked.

              ‘Well, there will be a time when I will say, okay, keep going, keep being stupid,’ Trump replied.

              ‘Maybe it’s not possible to do,’ he added. ‘There’s tremendous hatred. Just so you understand, Kristen, we’re talking tremendous hatred between these two men and between, you know, some of the soldiers, frankly, between the generals, they’ve been fighting hard for three years. I think we have a very good chance of doing it.’

              The interview comes just days after Trump blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin, questioning whether his Russian counterpart has any interest in peace.

              Trump spoke up on social media last week after Russian forces launched missiles into Ukrainian cities.

              ‘There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,’ Trump wrote. ‘It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!’

              Secretary of State Marco Rubio also appeared to temper expectations for a major peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia last week.

              Rubio argued it was ‘silly’ to put a specific date or timeline on when the U.S. might pull out from mediation, but he said this will be ‘a very critical week.’

              Days later, the White House signed a rare earth minerals agreement with Ukraine, a months-long priority for Trump.

              This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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              White House celebrates ‘Star Wars Day’ with AI image of muscular Trump wielding a lightsaber

              The White House slammed the ‘radical left’ in a social media post Sunday, showing an AI-generated image of President Donald Trump wielding a lightsaber in celebration of May the Fourth, or ‘Star Wars Day.’

              May 4 has long been regarded as a day to celebrate the iconic movie franchise as fans post on social media ‘May the Fourth be with you,’ an offshoot of the memorable Star Wars quote ‘May the force be with you.’

              On Sunday, the White House took an opportunity to celebrate the popular day with a post on X, while also taking digs at the Trump administration’s biggest critics.

              ‘Happy May the 4th to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to bring Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, & well known MS-13 Gang Members, back into our Galaxy. You’re not the Rebellion—you’re the Empire,’ the White House wrote. ‘May the 4th be with you.’

              The post included an AI-generated image of Trump, who not only donned a Jedi robe and set of ripped arms but also held a red lightsaber. Behind him in the image were two bald eagles and two American flags.

              The post received mixed reactions.

              ‘Our efforts to FOIA info about a reported ‘Death Star’ have been stonewalled. And we pulled The Honorable Darth Vader as a judge when we sued so THAT will go nowhere,’ a user wrote.

              Another user asked X’s AI feature Grok what the meaning of a red lightsaber is in Star Wars. Those who follow the science fiction franchise will remember Darth Vader, Kylo Ren and others associated with the dark side or Sith powers used a red lightsaber of some sort.

              The Star Wars fandom website Wookieepedia explains that in the process of making a lightsaber, negative emotions like rage, hate, fear and pain would result in a red hue.

              ‘How do you not have one nerd on staff to tell you what color lightsaber is good and what color is bad???’ a user asked in reaction to the White House post.

              But supporters of the president were quick to respond to reactions about the color of the lightsaber Trump is holding in the image.

              ‘People arguing Trump using a red lightsaber equates him to evil…R ed is literally one of the three colors in our nation’s flag,’ a user wrote. ‘He is the leader of the Republican Party which is often ascribed the color Red. Context matters.’

              Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment on the matter.

              Still, the White House was not the only federal government agency to have fun with May the Fourth.

              The U.S. Army Pacific posted an AI-generated image to social media of two soldiers with lightsabers – one holding red and the other holding a red, white and blue weapon – walking into combat at night, with the Milky Way Galaxy behind them.

              ‘Across every galaxy – known and unknown – no force rivals our discipline, strength, and precision,’ the post read. ‘We don’t just defend the world. We protect the future. Victory is forged not found. May the 4th be with you.’

              This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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