Trump administration wields X like a weapon

President Donald Trump’s obsession with social media is so notorious that it has its own Wikipedia page. But since his return to the White House, that fixation has seeped into the highest levels of government, with cabinet officials adopting his combative style and reshaping how public servants behave online.

Consider Vice President JD Vance, who shrugged off war crime accusations after Trump authorized an extrajudicial strike on a Venezuelan fishing boat by posting on X that, “I don’t give a shit what you call it.” Or the official DHS X account, which now floods timelines with seemingly AI-generated 4chan memes and WWII-style recruitment posters for ICE — including one featuring the Statue of Liberty with glowing laser eyes. FCC Chair Brendan Carr recently blasted Democrats on X for “weaponizing government to silence dissent” after a California senator suggested breaking up Sinclair Broadcasting — days after Carr appeared on a podcast threatening Disney, ABC, and local affiliates with regulatory action over Jimmy Kimmel’s comment about Charlie Kirk.

Meanwhile, FBI Director Kash Patel called MSNBC “an ass clown factory” on X after the network noted that the DOJ prohibits perp walks — a detail only mentioned because a bureau agent had been allegedly suspended for refusing to stage one with former FBI director James Comey. Patel also recently faced criticism for his behavior on X following the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk; hours after the killing, Patel stated a suspect was in custody, only to post a follow-up 90 minutes later announcing the suspect was released. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem took to X recently to accuse Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson of sheltering and protecting “criminal illegal alien gangbangers.” That’s a disturbingly racist choice of words to put out into the world, especially from the nation’s top domestic security official.

This isn’t fringe behavior anymore. In Trump’s second term, hostile and dehumanizing social media posts are a regular occurrence. Whether the incendiary posting is official policy or simply “flooding the zone,” a deliberate tactic of overwhelming the public with constant outrage and noise so that no single scandal can stick, is anyone’s guess.

“To paraphrase Truman, the buck stops with the president,” Ryan Geddie, a political analyst and YouTuber from Texas, said in an email to Mashable. “[Trump’s] behavior on social media over the last decade has given everyone in the administration — down to whoever’s running the DHS X account — license to go more radical online.”

In addition to following Trump’s lead, Geddie also believes the hostile posting is not just for Trump’s eyes but for conservative media audiences as well.

“[Trump’s cabinet] rightly or wrongly equate these audiences with conservative voters in general. Their social media personas are driven almost entirely by what they imagine these groups will enjoy,” Geddie said.

The rise of influencer creep in politics

Part of the Trump administration’s online behavior may also be an extension of “influencer creep,” said Sophie Bishop, an associate professor at The University of Leeds and feminist media researcher. The term, coined by Bishop, describes how the relentless self-branding and content-churning logic of influencer culture has bled into other professions — journalism, academia, and now, apparently, the federal government. It’s not hard to see why: Several of Trump’s most powerful cabinet officials built their careers not in law or public service, but in broadcasting, podcasting, and cable news.

Both Patel and Dan Bongino, the Deputy Director of the FBI, came from podcasting — Patel as a part-time podcast guest host for former Trump Chief of Staff Steve Bannon and Bongino as one of the most prominent pro-Trump influencers online. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spent seven years on Fox & Friends Weekend. Jeanine Pirro, once a nightly Fox News firebrand, now serves as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Kimberly Guilfoyle, former co-host of The Five, is the ambassador to Greece. Sean Duffy, a former Real World cast member and Fox Business co-host, runs the Department of Transportation. And Tulsi Gabbard, who signed on as a Fox News contributor in 2022, is now the Director of National Intelligence. Together, these individuals have millions of social media followers, and as any good influencer knows, they must be constantly fed.

“The kind of online persona building used by the Trump cabinet is just one piece of the puzzle,” Bishop said in an email to Mashable. “Influencer creep accelerates the more divisive or sensationalist elements of political speech because extreme moments and soundbites are algorithmically rewarded with attention.”

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“[Trump officials] have time to do this because Trump and his administration see being a headline-generating media personality as an important part of the job description,” Geddie says. “Certainly, they have better things to do.”

As for the official White House and DHS accounts — both run by anonymous staffers — Geddie says the explanation for their posts may lie in GOP staffer culture itself.

“If we’re talking about social media specifically, I think an under-examined angle is the connection between the online right and the GOP staffer class,” Geddie says. “There’s been reporting about how figures like Bronze Age Pervert, [Curtis] Yarvin, and the flood of pseudonymous X accounts are shaping young GOP staffers — and that lines up with what I’ve seen talking to young Republicans.”

Who exactly is behind those official social media accounts — known for churning out memes and AI-generated images of crying detainees — remains an open question. When Mother Jones reporter Anna Merlan tried to find out, the White House ignored her request. DHS, meanwhile, replied with an email declaring that “the American people can no longer rely on journalists like Anna Merlin [sic]” before laying into former President Joe Biden and claiming “American daughters were raped and murdered by illegal aliens” under his watch.

That email’s verbiage is strikingly similar to DHS’s pinned post on its X account: “America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out.”

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This article reflects the opinion of the writer.