His politics background bites.
A social media influencer hired by the State Department to shoot a promotional video for the next NATO summit admitted he initially thought the project was for the campy B-movie series “Sharknado.”
Anthony Polcari, know for his chipper “positive masculinity” videos, assumed his agent was using an abbreviation for the made-for-TV movies —’Nado rather than NATO — when he told him about the gig, the Washingtonian reported.
“When my agent first said NATO, I thought it was Sharknado,” Polcari, who goes by Tony P, told the outlet — adding he wants to launch a career in television.
Instead, he sunk his teeth into being the posterboy for world’s most powerful military alliance.
“NATO is such an important part of our world,” said Polcari, 25, who uses the handle @TonyPinDC. “I was 100 percent in to help promote that.”
In the promo video, Polcari — whose style is so wholesome and upbeat it has been mistaken for satire — serves as a digital tour guide while welcoming NATO Summit attendees to the US capital.
“Did you know that Washington DC witnessed the birth of NATO?” he says in the footage, posted by NATO on X. “It all started right here!”
“Twelve countries from Europe and North America came together in 1949,” he proclaims with a grin. “Now 32 members strong, this year NATO is hosting its summit right here in Washington DC.”
A script for the promo video along with an outline for shots of monuments was written by NATO’s German-based social media team, the Washingtonian reported.
But some critics were brutal as a shark attack — calling Polcari too perky to be the face of NATO.
“Congratulations! This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen!” one user slammed on X.
“This video radicalized me against NATO,” another teased as a third quipped, “This ad has made me decide that I now support Russia.
Tony P has racked up over 200,000 followers on Instagram and 16,000 on TikTok, where he generally discusses innocuous topics ranging from Law & Order reruns to cooking.
“Sharknado” is a 2013 American science fiction comedy disaster flick starring Tara Reid and In Ziering.
It has since sparked a franchise with five sequels and a cult following.
NATO hasn’t replied to a request for comment.
