Student cleans Donald Trump's Hollywood star and inspires withering meme

When Makenna Greenwald noticed that Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood walk of fame had been defaced with stickers and graffiti for the umpteenth time, she decided to do something about it.

Using a handful of make-up wipes, she cleaned off the offending slogans to ensure it was fit for a president, before posting a photo of her handiwork on social media.

The 20-year-old student’s efforts were immediately lauded by Mr Trump’s supporters, who praised her civic-minded attitude.

His critics took a different tack, mocking her efforts with a string of photographs of other performer’s stars. It began with Twitter user Jake Stubbs who mimicked Ms Greenwald's poses in a series of photographs as he cleaned Meryl Streep's star.

And then the universe joined in....

Ms Greenwald appeared on Fox News as the trend took off. She said she was shocked by the abuse she had received for simply showing her respect for the office of the president.

"I think that we should have more respect from both sides of the aisle, and I was blown away by how much disrespect that I got, how rude people were to me, for a simple act of cleaning up our president, who is the highest office of the land," she said.

"He should be respected, whether it's his Hollywood star or just talking about him in public."

Meanwhile, of course, the gags continued. Even some movie president pedants joined in.

And who needs a star anyway?