Trump 2.0 White House hones messaging to challenge false stories, engage pop culture

There's a notable and often youthful tone to the White House's messaging on social media. During President Trump's second term, his communications staff is focusing on countering misinformation from mainstream media and Democrats by utilizing the cultural zeitgeist to rally support for Trump's policies. 

The frequent posts indicate a shift towards a bold, and often meme-centric, social media approach during Trump’s second term, sharply contrasting with the more reserved style of previous administrations, including his own first term. What initially seemed brash is now mainstream, allowing companies to go back to reliable forms of marketing: hot people selling products, without having to apologize. 

Border hoaxes exposed

The Department of Homeland Security has been very quick to dispel rumors that have gone viral on social media. A preponderance of these viral videos and memes are spreading disinformation and hoaxes that lead to fear and misconceptions about the department's operations. On Sunday, the department posted a video on its X account in which it corrected the record first on, as Deputy Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis referred to it, the "Taco Bell Hoax." 

In July, a viral hoax spread via TikTok when immigration lawyer Trisha Chatterjee falsely claimed an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officer provided her with a Taco Bell phone number instead of the correct phone number providing assistance for her detained clients. 

The Department of Homeland Security quickly debunked the story, labeling it a fabrication and confirming no such interaction occurred. DHS confirmed that she was provided multiple avenues to directly contact ICE to resolve any issues, but the lawyer made no attempt to contact the agency. Chatterjee, however, has since insisted that the incident was real, claiming it must have been a prank by an ICE officer.

DHS' Bis also addressed a viral video that asserts a conspiracy that Home Depot has a contract with DHS. In the video, Bis clarifies, "DH does not have a contract with Home Depot, and we certainly don't notify businesses of targeted enforcement operations."

"This ridiculous claim is just another attempt to smear our brave ICE law enforcement, who are already facing an 830% increase in assaults against them." 

Bis also addressed members of Congress representing sanctuary cities across the country, who claimed they were denied entry into a Baltimore ICE facility. "This is outrageous. Here are the facts. If these members wanted a photo op with the criminal illegal aliens they support, they could have just scheduled a tour," Bis said. 

Culture-injected Border Patrol recruitment 

Last week, the liberal social media universe sank even lower than usual, distributing videos describing American Eagle's new ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney as "Nazi sh*t," pushing eugenics in favor of white people, and glorified whiteness. 

In the ad, Sweeney says, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue." A narrator then says, "Sydney Sweeney has great genes."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection immediately jumped on the cultural hype and put out a recruitment video with a deep-voiced narrator who says, "Our horse patrol unit has great genes. Genes that can stand up to the most rugged rides. It’s not just what we wear every day. It’s in our DNA."

The Department of Defense also tapped into the hype with their own timely X post featuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The post features a photo of Hegseth exiting a DOD aircraft wearing a blue blazer and jeans with the caption "@secdef [Hegseth] has great jeans."

White House capitalizing on culture 

It's not just federal agencies who are capitalizing on culture and the media; the White House itself is also getting in on the fun. 

Last week, Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools, a program originally introduced in 1966 and phased out in 2012 under the Obama administration. The test, which includes exercises like a one-mile run, sit-ups, and pull-ups, aims to address concerns about childhood obesity and promote a culture of physical fitness, with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. overseeing its implementation. 

High-profile figures from the sports world appeared in the Oval Office, including professional golfers Bryson DeChambeau and Annika Sorenstam, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor and WWE legend, Paul "Triple H" Levesque.

Capitalizing further on the cultural momentum, the White House released a video featuring Paul "Triple H" Levesque performing his signature water-spitting fight entrance outside the White House, captioned “ARE YOU READY… TO MAKE AMERICA FIT AGAIN,” and set to his theme song “The Game.” 

In another nod to pop culture, following Trump's trip to the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit in June, Secretary-General Mark Rutte referred to President Donald Trump as "daddy" in a lighthearted remark, responding to Trump’s analogy of Israel and Iran as fighting children by saying, “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language.” 

Rutte later clarified he was not directly calling Trump “daddy” but using a metaphor for America’s role in NATO. However, the White House ran with it and posted a montage video of Trump's NATO trip set to Usher’s 2010 song “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home),” captioned with lyrics “Daddy’s home… Hey, hey, hey, Daddy,” playfully referencing Rutte’s earlier “daddy” comment.

Resulting cultural shift: "Being WOKE is for losers"

Following Sweeney's ad and the resulting backlash, one might have expected an apology from the company, American Eagle. However, not only did their subsequent statement on the frenzy not contain an apology, they upped their ad game and bought space on a wrap-around video billboard in Times' Square featuring the ad campaign. 

On Monday, Trump posted on his Truth Social account, "Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the “HOTTEST” ad out there...the jeans are “flying off the shelves.” Go get ‘em Sydney!...Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be." Following the post American Eagle's stock soared 25%. 

Dunkin' Donuts was part of the Sweeney tide's ripple. The famous donut and coffee establishment released a commercial on July 29 featuring Gavin Casalegno, a Dallas-born actor from the Amazon Prime show, "The Summer I Turned Pretty," who sparked backlash for crediting his “golden summer” tan to “genetics.” 

Critics on TikTok and Reddit predictably called it a dog whistle for white beauty standards, drawing comparisons to the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad controversy. As of publication, Dunkin' Donuts has not apologized or responded to the controversy.

Further ripples feature Arby's X account, where days later, the company launched a campaign featuring WNBA star Sophie Cunningham wearing a "Hot Girls Eat Arby's" T-shirt, which went viral after she wore it to a game, leading to a brand partnership and more social media controversy over what detractors refer to as objectifying women. The $20 shirt sold out quickly and neither Arby's nor Cunningham have apologized.

Further auguring a cultural revolution is EA Sports' new College Football '26 video game, which reportedly features the "Trump Dance," Trump's signature dance move when YMCA is played with the hip-sway, fist-pump combination. Numerous NFL and soccer players have performed the move as a celebration dance during play.