Truman vs. Oppenheimer

About

Truman vs. Oppenheimer refers to a series of memes that portray J. Robert Oppenheimer (the "father of the atomic bomb") as weak compared to Former U.S. President Harry S. Truman who gave the order to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. The memes came to prominence in mid-2023 upon the release of the Christopher Nolan film Oppenheimer starring actor Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer and actor Gary Oldman as Truman. Some memes centered on Oppenheimer's famous quote "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Other memes focused on Truman once calling Oppenheimer a "crybaby scientist" behind his back after Oppenheimer told him "There is blood on my hands." Many Truman vs. Oppenheimer memes appeared on Twitter, 4chan and TikTok in 2023.

Origin

Memes about Harry S. Truman and J. Robert Oppenheimer notably started in early 2023, leading up to the July 21st, 2023, release of the Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer. The basis for the memes contrasting the two was a first-hand account of an encounter between Oppenheimer and Truman in 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Oppenheimer had reportedly told Truman "There is blood on my hands," and after he left Truman's office, Truman called him a "crybaby scientist."^[1]

On March 5th, 2023, Twitter^[2] user @hannahrosewoods tweeted a screenshot of an article that relayed the aforementioned story, writing, "Obsessed with this Truman quote about Robert Oppenheimer." The tweet received roughly 17,500 likes in four months (shown below).

Spread

The aforementioned tweet inspired humorous quote retweets and replies in the days that followed. Going into 2023, more meme creators on Twitter started to reference Truman and Oppenheimer in tandem. For instance, on April 18th, 2023, Twitter^[3] user @bretuwaru posted a tweet (since deleted) that gained roughly 7,000 likes in one day (shown below, left). On May 9th, 2023, Twitter^[4] user @sura104 used the I Am A Surgeon, Dr. Han! template, gaining roughly 20,200 likes in two months (shown below, right).

During the same timeframe, posts about Truman and Oppenheimer surfaced on 4chan, such as a post to /tv/^[5] on April 11th, 2023, that referenced Truman's "crybaby scientist" quote (shown below).

Leading up to and after the movie's premiere on July 21st, 2023, Truman vs. Oppenheimer memes became more commonplace online. For instance, on July 24th, 2023, Twitter^[6] user @trentandrewrld tweeted a meme that followed the This Is X Bitch! We Clown In This Muthafucka template, gaining roughly 14,500 likes in two days (shown below, left). On July 25th, Twitter^[7] user used a photo of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in a tweet that gained roughly 26,200 likes in one day (shown below, right).

During the same timeframe, memes about the two surfaced on TikTok. For instance, on April 24th, 2023, TikToker^[8] @lowellrenold20 posted a video in which they mouthed a photo of Truman, gaining roughly 198,500 plays and 31,600 likes in two days (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

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External References