March 29, 2025 - 6:00pm
The White House’s social media presence has taken a particularly dark and juvenile turn under the current administration. Posts emanating from the highest office in the land come across as the work of online Right-wing influencers, not people who are actually in charge of running the country.
Take, for instance, the White House’s recent use of an artificial intelligence tool to transform a photograph of an immigration enforcement agent detaining a migrant woman into a cartoon image in the style of animator Hayao Miyazaki’s classic films. Or a photograph posted by the White House account of Vice President JD Vance shooting a rifle at a range. “Just the Vice President of the United States sending some freedom seeds downrange. Doesn’t get more American than that,” it wrote.
Why have dark memes from the White House become a theme of the administration’s communications with the American public? One explanation is that Trump and his colleagues running the federal government are still operating under the bunker mentality conservatives adopted over the past decade.
During this period, conservatives created their own transgressive counterculture, especially on the Internet, which led to a flourishing Right-wing ecosystem, be it podcasts or X under Elon Musk. But it also created something of an echo chamber, in which the Online Right developed their own language, memes and figureheads. The result, perhaps inevitably, led to a growing divergence (and detachment) with ordinary Americans — as Ron DeSantis’s extremely online presidential campaign showed.
Unfortunately, the people in this world now seem to be running the White House’s social media. Which is why we are now seeing ASMR videos of shackled migrants being deported, for example. This kind of thing might appeal to hyper-online partisans, but to most Americans, it is just plain strange.
This messaging could hurt the administration and broader Republican Party as they seek to implement their policies. If they want people to get behind their approach to, say, immigration, the administration needs to show that what they’re doing is for the betterment of the country — not just fulfilling the sadistic desires of certain White House staffers and ultra-partisan elements of the Republican base. As one commentator noted, approaching these issues in a cruel or juvenile way could actually make Americans more sympathetic to the progressive view on immigration.
After fulfilling their long-sought goal of winning the popular vote in the 2024 election, the administration risks pushing the pendulum to swing back the other way — much as it did during the first term. Harsh rhetoric towards immigration paired with policies like child separation helped turn the American public against Trump’s approach to the issue then and the very same thing could happen now.
As Trump’s unfavourability starts to tick upwards, he should be wary of how his administration approaches such issues. Though there is broad-based support for tighter immigration controls, turning deportations into a meme may not sit well with moderates and independents, who may wish to punish the President at next year’s midterms. Oftentimes, the manner in which a policy is conducted is as important as the policy itself.
America requires wise leadership that understands that it needs to talk and behave as if it has a steady hand at the wheel, guiding the country to new and better horizons. Continuing to post like an upstart conservative influencer not only does not get them any closer to that goal, it actively undermines it.
Zaid Jilani is a journalist who has worked for UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, The Intercept, and the Center for American Progress.
ZaidJilani
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SubscribeSince the Center for American Progress, as the name alone implies rather clearly, is a progressive Democrat outfit, and it was founded by John Podesta, one of the top Democrat strategists, it is fairly easy to see that this concern trolling about the Republicans’ online decorum and its supposed effects on their popularity is just that.
But there is more. Deporting foreign fentanyl dealers – which this meme depicts – or other criminal illegals is not an example of cruelty. However, letting drug dealers, murderous gang members, and other criminals destroy local communities is exactly that, and this is indeed what the Center for American Progress supports.
However, the telling moment in the article is where it laments the products of an online right-wing counterculture. Indeed, that stings, doesn’t it. For decades, the left was proud of its countercultural energy and its power over the young. It was very easy to maintain, too, while the Republicans were run by the likes of Mitch McConnell and Mitt Romney, the epitome of uncool and out-of-touch. That time is over. The counterculture is now on the Right, while the Left, as it is well known, is not only stale and uncool, it can’t even meme.
Oh, and one more thing. It is not “dark memes”, it is “dank memes”. Learn the phrase.
Yes!
“the bunker mentality conservatives adopted over the past decade”
It goes much further back than that; conservatives have been the focus of decades of concerted dishonest, vindictive, and mean spirited attacks by the Progressive Left in control of media, entertainment, and education. It’s tacky, but entirely understandable given the history.
Well let’s see. The author is from Berkeley, a hot bed of woke, progressive, totalitarian radicalism. The problem is that Zaid Jilani is living in a self-confirming echo chamber. Trump is not unpopular right now. More people than ever believe the country is now headed in the right direction. And very few regular people, as opposed to the coddled elites and cogniscenti, have any sympathy for Tren de Aragua gang members. There is no question we are at war with MS13 and Tre de Aragua and these have been declared terrorist organizations. There is no question that when one is talking about the deportation of criminal illegal aliens one simply cannot have individual court cases – they’re are literally over 100,000 gang members involved and there is therefore no time for such niceties, nor ever was there in time of war, any war. The simple truth is that if you let in 15 million unvetted illegal aliens into the country as the Biden administration did, it would not be surprising that at least 1% of those were really bad people. And 1% of 15 million is 150,000! That’s a big number. And I’mn pretty sure that if Zaid Jilani lived in one of the Aurora apartment complexes that was taken over by Tren de Aragua gang members, he would sing quite a different tune. He would also sing a quite different tune if his daughter (should have one) were murdered by a Tern de Aragua gang member as Laken Riley was.
Dark memes. Oh no, please not dark. Never gonna vote for Republicans now.
I don’t have a problem with a VP shooting a gun at a range, but “Freedom Seeds?” This comes across as more corny than “far right.” It was hard not to chuckle.
It’s just childish isn’t it. The whole thing just gives off the impression that a bunch of internet nerds have been left at home alone while their parents are away and want to partake in this “mischief” they’ve heard so much about
Exactly that. And they criticised Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit!
You guys should have share a beer. You can work on your tds together.
Much like any criticism of the woke pet projects was lazily dismissed as “phobic” (transphobic, islamophobic etc) as a feeble attempt to shit down the discussion, any criticism of Trumps team is stupidly labelled Trump Derangement Syndrome for the same reason.
The woke and anti woke really are two sides of the same utterly pathetic coin
I see you giving just desserts for all the wins also.
What wins? You’ve lost me I’m afraid
It’s a sign of intelligence if one can be critical of one’s own side as well as one’s opponents.
Don’t worry, I apply the bs meter to all sides.
Exactly … it was a joke .., albeit, as you say, a corny one. Plus it’s a little bit of trolling I think but so what? It goes down well generally.
The key thing is the economy … if they fix that in meaningful terms to the man in the street they’re going to be there for a long time.
Corny ‘freedom seeds’? Sure. Unserious Studio Ghibli memes? Yep.
That said, wake me up when the Trump Administration escalates from jokes and words (which never hurt me) to picking up the very sticks and stones that the Left gleefully used to beat women and girls who play sports, to beat centrists for being vocal in debate, to beat loving parents for caring about their children, to beat autistic men for being … well, autistic men, and so forth.
The Left seems so very worried about staid surface decorum and words that they’ve forgotten to ponder and repent of their egregious and far more serious acts against average Americans.
Perhaps they prefer continuing their political exodus to the distant fringes of American society? Who can really say.
Thats an interesting observation. It did used be the right who were sticklers for decorum, but that really has flipped. It flipped around the time of Milo Y et al.
Tampon Tim looks to be leading the way.
I remember seeing a youtube video a few years ago of Ted Cruz frying bacon by wrapping it around the end of a what I assume was a semi-automatic rifle and emptying the clip. Laughable stuff, but the thing is that he figured it would boost his popularity.
I do agree with the author’s main point, that now they are in charge some of the shock-jock stuff really needs to be dialed down a bit. Pumping out freedom seeds is playing to the gallery, but in the week when we’ve had the slapdash approach of that Yemen Signal mess I don’t think I’m alone in feeling I’d be reassured to see a more sober and serious approach.
Despite all of the crooked mainstream media’s huffing and puffing, the Signal kerfuffle had all the wind power of a popcorn fart.
I don’t think your comfort is their goal.
This left wing writer has fallen sadly behind the times. The left lost its sense humour long ago except for late-night comics with small followings but the conservatives understand how well it works. Think of Trump’s brilliant campaign using McDonald’s and the garbage truck and hi-viz vest. Priceless.
The change in decorum is just plain strange to “most Americans”? You’ve got to be kidding Zaid!
The last person to take seriously is a Berkeley lefty hack working at a faux NGO.
Like trump is taking advice from the likes of this guy based on a political take on some media supplied.
The migrant woman was a fentanyl dealer. These people need to be shamed.
If that’s true the essay went from bias to propaganda.
It’s true. The deportee in question was a fairly high ranking, and unsightly, fentanyl dealer.
I’d reply to the author of this piece that lighting Teslas on fire, assassinating an insurance CEO and father of two, or interrupting the President’s national speeches to scream about Medicaid – or at least winking at such things – will alienate far more voters than mocking a 300 lb, fentanyl dealing illegal alien.
We’ve had this with the left too, and in the U.K. we still do: those in power continuing to think they are the rebel army.
The Trump White House is not being run well.
This is not a problem. If the behavior creates issues, the administration will deny they exist