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The President of the United States is often referred to as the most powerful man in the world (mainly because we sadly lack a Superman to help clean things up for us), but what if he had even more power? Like, I don't know, the power to have his enemies killed with the stroke of a pen? That kind of power is reserved for the owner of a Death Note... which nearly made it into the hands of - wait for it - Donald Trump.

If you’re a fan of the original Death Note anime and manga, you might have wondered how you missed seeing Donald Trump with a Shinigami notebook. That's because it comes from the 2020 one-shot, The a-Kira Story. When a Death Note is offered up in an online auction, President Trump successfully bids for it and wins. However, a new rule states that if he accepts the notebook in these circumstances, he will die.

The President in question is never explicitly named, but it came out in 2020 and just look at the way they drew him in the image above. That ridiculous hair. That jowly scowl. That perpetually puckered mouth. That can be no one but Donald Trump. The chapter doesn’t exactly paint the former President in a positive light. He initially bought the Death Note under the guise of keeping the United States safe. Instead, he is confronted by a new rule regarding the notebook; anyone who buys the Death Note will die upon receiving it.

In Tsugumi Ohba’s opinion, that isn’t a sacrifice Donald Trump would be willing to make. Instead, he goes out and tells an easily disproven and very public lie by telling the world that he has the Death Note but refuses to use it in the hopes it will boost his reputation.

So as scary as the upcoming election feels, we can at least rest easy knowing that there is no way a US President actually has a Death Note (even in comics).

Where can you meet the voices behind your favorite anime characters from Dragon Ball Z, My Hero Academia, One Piece, and Fairy Tale? At New York Comic Con, of course! Come for the Anime guests, stay for the weebs – plus have access to hundreds of exhibitors with anime and manga merch, exclusives, and giveaways. Limited Thursday NYCC 2024 tickets are still on sale.

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