President Donald Trump’s reelection brought in many changes for the country — from executive orders challenging civil rights to acquitting those who unleashed chaos on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — these times are transformative. Amidst the tangible differences Trump’s presidency surfaces, society now meets face-to-face with an unexpected digital figure — the White House’s social media.
The White House posts unprofessional content on its social media accounts, only further tainting the Trump name and, now, his team’s. To start its collection of notably inappropriate posts is their call-out against Selena Gomez after she shared a video of herself crying because of the mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Another offensive post was made on Valentine’s Day. It depicted a graphic featuring photos of Trump and former ICE Acting Director Tom Homan atop a hearted background, captioned “Roses are red violets are blue come here illegally and we’ll deport you.”
The shameless content continued on President’s Day, with a post referencing Trump’s indictment, which featured an image of the president’s infamous mugshot. The post was captioned with a quote from his post-indictment speech, “They’re not after me, they’re after you — I’m just standing in the way.”
One day later, Trump suggested himself above the law in an X post by writing the quote, “He who saves his Country does not violate any law,” and only days after came the problematic “LONG LIVE THE KING” post from the White House social media, which pulled in a wave of negative reactions.
The content showed a digitally illustrated mock-up cover of Time Magazine, spotlighting Trump standing frivolously in front of New York City wearing a crown, the words above his head reading “Trump” instead of “Time.” The post was captioned, “‘CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!’ – President Donald J. Trump.”
The post came after Trump’s administration attempted to revoke New York City’s new congestion pricing toll program — which received pushback from New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In a statement, Hochul replied to Trump’s alarming monarchical post on social media, “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We’ll see you in court.”
Regardless of the reasoning — and whether or not the king post was a joke — the simple allusion to there being a king is exactly what the American people fought against. The nature of the White House’s social media posts is preposterous. U.S. politics are being placed in the hands of the corrupt and childish. The White House’s social sites have become an emblem of political cartoons — its content was made to bolster the president. Instead, it has flushed democracy, humanity and professionalism down the drain.
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