The Trump administration’s ‘meme communication’ style

The Washington Post at the end of November 2025 published shocking information about the administration of US President Donald Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is said to have ordered a double raid, killing survivors on a boat suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean in early September.

Such allegations are serious, often requiring a cautious official response. But while government sources tried to deny it, the Pentagon boss used memes to speak up.

Two days after the information appeared, Mr. Hegseth posted on his X account a parody of the cover of a book based on the children’s series Franklin the Turtle, with the title “Franklin targets drug-trafficking terrorists.” The image on the cover is of a turtle wearing an American military uniform, standing on a helicopter firing at boats with people below.

This is a typical example of President Trump’s administration’s communication style in the first year of his second term. The White House boss also posted many photos and parody videos on social networks, borrowing humorous language on the Internet to attract attention and defend policy decisions, forming a style that observers call “meme communication”.

During his first term in 2017-2021, Mr. Trump mainly re-shared memes and funny photos on social networks. In the second term, this activity appeared on both the social network accounts of federal agencies and cabinet ministers. The development of artificial intelligence (AI) tools makes creating memes easier, creating conditions for the US executive branch to continuously release memes that attract attention.

In February 2025, to promote President Trump’s efforts to cancel the traffic congestion toll policy in Manhattan, the White House posted a parody of TIME magazine’s cover with an image of Mr. Trump wearing a crown.

On May 2, President Trump’s Truth Social account and the White House account on X shared a meme of him dressed as the Pope sitting on the throne. Two days later, on the anniversary of the movie Star Wars, the White House re-shared the image of Mr. Trump as a muscular Jedi warrior, holding a red light saber.

In addition to images glorifying President Trump, federal authorities also posted many memes to attack political opponents or respond to criticism. “The Constitution does not prohibit us from posting ‘explosive’ memes,” the White House posted on X in July.

In November, platform The White House immediately posted a meme, in which the location they wrote was “free capital in the heads of the Democrats”.

“This is what happens when people who like to use social networks own the White House,” said Shannon McGregor, a professor specializing in social media and political communication studies at the University of North Carolina.

For Ms. McGregor, the most impressive image was President Trump posting a video created from AI, showing him wearing a crown, flying a fighter with the words “King Trump” printed on it and pouring brown liquid into a crowd of protesters in New York. He posted the video after millions of people participated in peaceful “No King” protests in 50 states to protest the federal government’s policies.

“The post is not intended to debate what the protesters are protesting, nor is it to ignore them. It is the most typical manifestation of the cultural response of people who use social networks,” Ms. McGregor said.

According to Audrey Halversen, a political communication scholar at the University of Michigan, President Trump not only relies on what his support base responds to, but also targets issues that make the opposition angry.

“That makes these posts attract a lot of attention,” Ms. Halversen continued.

Mr. Trump is not the first politician to use memes to seek advantage in politics. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg spent more than 1 million USD to cooperate with influential people on social networks to produce memes when running for president in 2020. Mr. Joe Biden also used memes in his 2024 re-election campaign.

However, under Mr. Trump, the use of memes has expanded from a campaign tool to official communications for the executive branch. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson confirmed the effectiveness of this strategy.

“The White House’s success on social networks shows it all. Through attractive posts and ‘explosive’ memes, we are effectively conveying the President’s highly supported agenda, while also putting the Democrats in a difficult position. It is not a coincidence that many people seek to copy us, this method is creating a pervasive influence,” Ms. Jackson replied. CNN.