How Donald Trump Shapes Reality through Memes
Published in Rzeczpospolita
(Poland) on 29 January 2026
by Krzysztof Wasilewski, PhD (link to
original)
Thanks to Donald Trump, politics has become a space to create internet memes. So instead of analyzing the U.S. president through the prism of refined political science theories, isn't it better to measure him by his own standards?
We've become accustomed to Donald Trump being more of an influencer than a politician. He acts at the speed of a fiber optic cable, jumping from one topic to another as if he were commenting on some trending social media post. He’ll mention Ukraine, then moments later demand Greenland, appointing himself acting president of Venezuela in between. To keep up with and make sense of him, we must abandon rational reasoning in favor of the only thing that keeps pace with him — internet memes.
I Wonder What Trump Said Last Night?
For many of us, viewing memes, or images (photos, graphics, etc.) accompanied by ironic or cynical text, has become a daily pastime. It's all the more addictive because it does not require much intellectual effort. One image makes you smile, another makes you shed a tear, and yet another makes you reflect on your own fate — and that of the entire world.
Isn't that exactly what Trump is like? In the first year of his second term, the American president has tirelessly captured our attention, evoking a whole range of emotions. "I wonder what Trump said last night" — I'm probably not the only one who starts the day with this question. When we find out, we respond with laughter, sadness, or — more and more often — with anger.
Probably everyone knows the meme depicting a young couple walking through the city. The man turns and whistles at the sight of an attractive woman in a red dress, to which his partner reacts with a look of disbelief and fury. Plenty of male internet users are likely to relate strongly to the flirt. I'm sure Trump understands him well, since he can be rude to more than just women.
Isn't the American leader constantly looking for a new target, leaving his former partners in shock and disbelief? Take Ukraine, for example. For a moment it looked like after much turbulence, Trump would finally broker a peace deal or ceasefire. But it took a moment of inattention to turn his focus to Venezuela.
That didn't last long either as Greenland soon turned out to be more appealing. It probably won't be long before another object of the president's desires emerges.
What is Trump Thinking?
Staying with the male-female relationship, remember the meme featuring another couple? This time, the woman is in bed, her back turned to her partner; she glances at him, suspecting that although he is lying next to her, he is thinking of someone else. But he’s preoccupied with something entirely different, like the fall of the Roman Empire.
What is Trump thinking? Like a woman in the meme, we analyze his statements, decisions, and even behavior during press conferences, looking for clues about the American president's true intentions. Meanwhile, Trump is thinking only about himself and his own interests.
However, it looks like the world and the Americans themselves are finally beginning to realize this. Opinion polls are merciless: a majority of Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, are critical of Trump's actions on the international stage, from his involvement in peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to relations with Iran. European partners are also opening their eyes, and instead of trying to make sense of the American president's behavior, they are trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
The US President Creates His Own Reality with Memes
Although we can all cite dozens of memes to diagnose the current situation, probably none of them reflects reality better than the one called, "This Is Fine." It shows a dog with human characteristics wearing a bowler hat, sitting quietly in a chair, while everything around him is engulfed in flames. While Trump wears a red baseball cap instead of a bowler, he also watches equally oblivious and ignorant as his decisions set the world on fire. The Riviera in Palestinian Gaza, Putin wishing Ukraine well, the exploitation of oil deposits in Venezuela, the attempt to seize Greenland—the American president steadily pours more gasoline on the fire, and the stronger the flames become, the happier he is.
The current U.S. leader himself shapes reality with the help of memes. The White House happily publishes inflammatory graphics on its official profile. That’s how we can look on at Trump as the pope, Santa Claus, the Conqueror of Greenland, or Mr. Tariff — stylized as Mr. Proper, also popular in Poland — or finally FAFO (fuck around and find out), a meme Trump uses to warn potential enemies not to pick a fight. His supporters are close behind, flooding social media with images of their idol styled as Rambo, the Terminator, or Superman.
As long as Trump treats politics as a place to feature memes, we will continue to face permanent crises. The hope is that memes, by their nature, get boring quickly enough. It’s hard to imagine that it will be any different with the current U.S. president and his entire political movement. The only question is whether that will happen too late. But for now, “This is fine.”
We've become accustomed to Donald Trump being more of an influencer than a politician. He acts at the speed of a fiber optic cable, jumping from one topic to another as if he were commenting on some trending social media post. He’ll mention Ukraine, then moments later demand Greenland, appointing himself acting president of Venezuela in between. To keep up with and make sense of him, we must abandon rational reasoning in favor of the only thing that keeps pace with him — internet memes.
I Wonder What Trump Said Last Night?
For many of us, viewing memes, or images (photos, graphics, etc.) accompanied by ironic or cynical text, has become a daily pastime. It's all the more addictive because it does not require much intellectual effort. One image makes you smile, another makes you shed a tear, and yet another makes you reflect on your own fate — and that of the entire world.
Isn't that exactly what Trump is like? In the first year of his second term, the American president has tirelessly captured our attention, evoking a whole range of emotions. "I wonder what Trump said last night" — I'm probably not the only one who starts the day with this question. When we find out, we respond with laughter, sadness, or — more and more often — with anger.
Probably everyone knows the meme depicting a young couple walking through the city. The man turns and whistles at the sight of an attractive woman in a red dress, to which his partner reacts with a look of disbelief and fury. Plenty of male internet users are likely to relate strongly to the flirt. I'm sure Trump understands him well, since he can be rude to more than just women.
Isn't the American leader constantly looking for a new target, leaving his former partners in shock and disbelief? Take Ukraine, for example. For a moment it looked like after much turbulence, Trump would finally broker a peace deal or ceasefire. But it took a moment of inattention to turn his focus to Venezuela.
That didn't last long either as Greenland soon turned out to be more appealing. It probably won't be long before another object of the president's desires emerges.
What is Trump Thinking?
Staying with the male-female relationship, remember the meme featuring another couple? This time, the woman is in bed, her back turned to her partner; she glances at him, suspecting that although he is lying next to her, he is thinking of someone else. But he’s preoccupied with something entirely different, like the fall of the Roman Empire.
What is Trump thinking? Like a woman in the meme, we analyze his statements, decisions, and even behavior during press conferences, looking for clues about the American president's true intentions. Meanwhile, Trump is thinking only about himself and his own interests.
However, it looks like the world and the Americans themselves are finally beginning to realize this. Opinion polls are merciless: a majority of Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, are critical of Trump's actions on the international stage, from his involvement in peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to relations with Iran. European partners are also opening their eyes, and instead of trying to make sense of the American president's behavior, they are trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
The US President Creates His Own Reality with Memes
Although we can all cite dozens of memes to diagnose the current situation, probably none of them reflects reality better than the one called, "This Is Fine." It shows a dog with human characteristics wearing a bowler hat, sitting quietly in a chair, while everything around him is engulfed in flames. While Trump wears a red baseball cap instead of a bowler, he also watches equally oblivious and ignorant as his decisions set the world on fire. The Riviera in Palestinian Gaza, Putin wishing Ukraine well, the exploitation of oil deposits in Venezuela, the attempt to seize Greenland—the American president steadily pours more gasoline on the fire, and the stronger the flames become, the happier he is.
The current U.S. leader himself shapes reality with the help of memes. The White House happily publishes inflammatory graphics on its official profile. That’s how we can look on at Trump as the pope, Santa Claus, the Conqueror of Greenland, or Mr. Tariff — stylized as Mr. Proper, also popular in Poland — or finally FAFO (fuck around and find out), a meme Trump uses to warn potential enemies not to pick a fight. His supporters are close behind, flooding social media with images of their idol styled as Rambo, the Terminator, or Superman.
As long as Trump treats politics as a place to feature memes, we will continue to face permanent crises. The hope is that memes, by their nature, get boring quickly enough. It’s hard to imagine that it will be any different with the current U.S. president and his entire political movement. The only question is whether that will happen too late. But for now, “This is fine.”
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