Throughout President Donald Trump’s previous campaign during the 2020 and 2024 elections, he made multiple accusations that targeted marginalized communities and his opponents’ agendas: such as the “stolen election” smear campaign in 2020 that led to the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot. Apart from this, Trump and his campaign team also spread political misinformation during the 2024 Presidential Debate and other interviews, such as the notorious claim he made about the Haitian community in Springfield, OH allegedly eating their pets. This was immediately debunked by government officials stating that it was baseless.
“They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live here.”
– President Donald Trump during the 2024 Presidential Debate
In Vice President JD Vance’s interview with CNN’s Dana Bash last September 2024 about the issue in Ohio, he mentioned the foul use of garnering media attention towards stories that neither had substance nor proof.
“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, [then] that’s what I’m going to do. I say we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it. I didn’t create illegal migrants coming into Springfield.”
– Vice President J.D. Vance on Springfield, Ohio
This issue led to a lawsuit from the State Attorney of Ohio who collaborated with a non-profit organization, Haitian Bridge Alliance, in order to sue Trump and his, at-the-time, running mate, J.D. Vance, for the irresponsible use of their power to gain the attention of the American people. Claims that affected dozens of the community both online and in-person, sparking a witch hunt for immigrants in the area.
Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, it has brought upon a new era to the White House that has allowed attempted manipulation using their social media. The government’s official Instagram page, @whitehouse, has released numerous social media posts welcoming Trump and his team to the oval office. Their activity ranged from cinematography of the Inauguration Day to reports of the various executive orders that Trump proposed within the past two months as president. But, in between these posts are inconspicuous content that could pass by the viewer’s eye as an innocent joke, but these “simple” Instagram posts could possibly mean something more: A layer of propaganda over the plans that Trump may have in the next coming years, blanketed as “trolling”.
In the context of media and relations, trolling is “the act of leaving an insulting message on the internet in order to annoy someone,” as defined in the Cambridge Dictionary. This behavior baits people into upsetting discussions that tend to be time-consuming and pointless by interacting with comments or posts that intend to incite a negative reaction.
“We like to troll. We like to go the night before one of their primers. We just- We do a little trolling- It’s called, we do a little trolling.”
– President Donald Trump during Charlotte, NC’s 2020 Campaign Rally
The phrase that Trump used grew popular in the next few years and became a significant slogan to the current presidency, during which the White House’s Instagram profile began releasing content that deviously baited for a reaction from opposite parties.
This “trolling” began with a recent Valentine’s Day post that the White House uploaded that mimicked a Y2K or Gen-Z media aesthetic that had the phrase; “Roses are red, violets are blue. Come here illegally and we’ll deport you,” referring to the current mass deportation plans that Trump is implementing.
The White House Valentine’s Day Post on Instagram, Feb. 14, 2025.
The phrase was a parody of the iconic romance poem of Sir Edmund Spenser’s 1590 The Faerie Queene that is used by many of today’s generation to create simple poems that often start off with “Roses are red, violets are blue.”
It would seem comedic or even innocent to some when governments would provide a lighthearted dipping of toes into social issues that could potentially affect thousands- if not, millions of people. The post indicates how the party may view mass deportation, an issue they equate to a silly Valentine’s Day post, but one that threatens the livelihoods of many people in the U.S. This post juxtaposed against the recent ICE reports of arrests that have been made against immigrants in various cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, etc. indicates the severity of the situation.
President Trump has been vocal about his opinions regarding immigrants and deportation since the beginning of his campaign, which has become a main driving point of his current presidency with a large number of mentions of his mass deportation plans on social media.
“Get ready to leave because you’re going to be going out real fast.”
– Donald Trump on Fox News (Sep. 25, 2024).
There are roughly 47.8 million immigrants across the U.S., sharing a good percentage of the U.S. population, contributing to an expanded labor force and increase in customer spending, becoming a vital part of the economy. In Washington State alone, 1.22 million immigrant residents consist of its large population. Since Trump had been instituted into the oval office, over 600 people a day on average have been arrested and deported by ICEand it seems to only be a matter of time before the institution strikes big towards the immigrant community.
On Feb. 18, one of the more controversial posts of the White House appeared on X and garnered over 103.4 million views. The caption of the post caused absolute outrage that was followed by a heavy video: “ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight.
ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, is a sensation caused by audio that may trigger a subconscious reaction in the body, such as tingles, shivers, or a sense of relaxation. This process grew popular online in the late 2010s until now, where many digital users create an intoxicating symphony of sounds with various items or activities such as eating.
The recent post goes beyond trolling, and backtracks on the seriousness of deportation that dehumanizes the subjects of the video by taking advantage of the ASMR trend. It was distasteful and disturbing. The video showcased alleged illegal immigrants being taken to a plane by law enforcement but included high-sensory audio of chains being shackled. The individuals apprehended in the video were wearing handcuffs or what seemed to be chain links, avoiding showing their faces to the camera.
“We can enforce our laws without making it a spectacle and humiliating people,” an X-user wrote.
“When J.D. Vance [Vice President] argues that illegal immigration enables poverty wages undermining the purpose of minimum wage, I can get behind that argument- but when you post this, it’s just cruel and dehumanizing,” another user wrote.
The video was a direct display of fear-mongering and the chilling agenda that the current presidency is trying to push toward its audience regarding their viewpoint of illegal immigrants: Aliens, creatures, objects. There is a narrative that these posts create, whether it promotes deportation in a sustainable manner or shackles individuals to subject them into humiliation, it affects millions of Americans who not only view the content, but are directly affected by the message as well.
The motivations behind these kinds of content are not clear. Still, it targets a specific type of humor, including pink-glittery and sticker-face edits, often catering to younger generations, such as Gen-Z. There should be a call for professional behavior to uphold while representing a country that prides itself in formal processes. But, this juvenile attempt by the White House’s social media team disregards the gravity of policies and agendas currently being enforced and is very haunting.
