The Trump Administration and Memes
His followers buy into the idea that it is entertaining, there is no doubt about that. However, behind it all is a state that incorporates visual propaganda resources.
At least three times a week, the U.S. government agencies’ official accounts publish some kind of meme praising the current administration. In the past, the White House reserved its accounts for statements, speeches, and data. Today, they have become a space where the right wing preaches humorous propaganda. The result is an administration that communicates like an influencer.
Its followers think this is entertaining, there is no doubt about that. However, behind it all is a state that incorporates and legitimizes visual propaganda with institutional seals. Whereas memes were once used to criticize power, many are now used in the service of power and have become, in part, its official language. In other words, the state speaks in memes.
What does it mean for a world power to communicate with its population (and the rest of the world) through memes? One immediate effect is that it displaces the informational aspect official accounts to prioritize the emotions they provoke. To do this, the government has learned to construct a reality through trolling. During the rise of AI-generated “Ghibli-style” images, the official White House account posted an image of a woman being detained for deportation.
In fact, the administration has used a number of internet trends to legitimize arrests and deportations. More than a just a humorous device, this is an exercise that trains the audience to read coercion as entertainment and authority as charismatic performance. The administration presents these acts of cruelty as harmless: memes make them palatable and, by repeating them, normalizes the cruelty.
Are we at a peak? Perhaps. What the Trump administration has done with memes is unprecedented. They are weekly posts, many with hundreds of thousands of likes.
It will be interesting to see if other governments (especially those on the right) replicate this use of memes on social media. It remains to be seen whether it will become a way of governing or whether it will remain just another feature of the Trump administration, remembered for how surreal it was. What is clear is that what once signified formality and seriousness in the U.S. government has been lost, but this does not make the exercise of power any less cruel.
At least three times a week, the U.S. government agencies’ official accounts publish some kind of meme praising the current administration. In the past, the White House reserved its accounts for statements, speeches, and data. Today, they have become a space where the right wing preaches humorous propaganda. The result is an administration that communicates like an influencer.
Its followers think this is entertaining, there is no doubt about that. However, behind it all is a state that incorporates and legitimizes visual propaganda with institutional seals. Whereas memes were once used to criticize power, many are now used in the service of power and have become, in part, its official language. In other words, the state speaks in memes.
What does it mean for a world power to communicate with its population (and the rest of the world) through memes? One immediate effect is that it displaces the informational aspect official accounts to prioritize the emotions they provoke. To do this, the government has learned to construct a reality through trolling. During the rise of AI-generated “Ghibli-style” images, the official White House account posted an image of a woman being detained for deportation.
In fact, the administration has used a number of internet trends to legitimize arrests and deportations. More than a just a humorous device, this is an exercise that trains the audience to read coercion as entertainment and authority as charismatic performance. The administration presents these acts of cruelty as harmless: memes make them palatable and, by repeating them, normalizes the cruelty.
Are we at a peak? Perhaps. What the Trump administration has done with memes is unprecedented. They are weekly posts, many with hundreds of thousands of likes.
It will be interesting to see if other governments (especially those on the right) replicate this use of memes on social media. It remains to be seen whether it will become a way of governing or whether it will remain just another feature of the Trump administration, remembered for how surreal it was. What is clear is that what once signified formality and seriousness in the U.S. government has been lost, but this does not make the exercise of power any less cruel.
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