The Trump administration's latest move is a stark reminder of the president's obsession with creating and spreading memes that celebrate his own brand of authoritarianism. The White House recently posted a doctored photo of Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Black lawyer who was arrested during an anti-ICE protest in Minnesota, which appeared to show her crying after being handcuffed. However, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had initially shared the original photo, showing Armstrong looking calm and resolute.
The Trump team's attempt to pass off the manipulated image as genuine is just one example of their reliance on fake content to advance their agenda. In a recent statement, deputy communications director Kaelan Dorr declared that "enforcement of the law will continue" while also saying "the memes will continue." This statement is not only nonsensical but also reveals the administration's priorities: creating and spreading memes that celebrate their own brand of authoritarianism.
The MAGA imagination and reality are inextricably linked, with the administration using social media to create a distorted universe where opponents are clashing, two-dimensional stereotypes. This has led to grotesque violence, whether real or imagined. The latest incident involving Renee Good, a Minneapolis mom who was killed while standing up for her neighbors, is just another example of this.
The Trump administration's ideology can be summed up as an interlocking set of memes, fictions, and fantasies that promise the reversal or destruction of almost every aspect of 21st-century reality. Their vision of the past is imaginary, and they have no future, but their destructive energy has changed the world.
In this warped universe, Renee Good is not a mother who was killed while standing up for her community; she's a pronoun-wielding gender terrorist who deserved to die. The Trump administration's ideology is built on lies, abuses, and perversions of justice, and it must be confronted head-on.
As we move forward in this era of fascism, it's essential to recognize that the line between verifiable reality and paranoid delusion has become unsustainable. We need to resist the spread of misinformation and create a world where facts matter, and truth is valued above all else. The fate of our democracy depends on it.
The Trump team's attempt to pass off the manipulated image as genuine is just one example of their reliance on fake content to advance their agenda. In a recent statement, deputy communications director Kaelan Dorr declared that "enforcement of the law will continue" while also saying "the memes will continue." This statement is not only nonsensical but also reveals the administration's priorities: creating and spreading memes that celebrate their own brand of authoritarianism.
The MAGA imagination and reality are inextricably linked, with the administration using social media to create a distorted universe where opponents are clashing, two-dimensional stereotypes. This has led to grotesque violence, whether real or imagined. The latest incident involving Renee Good, a Minneapolis mom who was killed while standing up for her neighbors, is just another example of this.
The Trump administration's ideology can be summed up as an interlocking set of memes, fictions, and fantasies that promise the reversal or destruction of almost every aspect of 21st-century reality. Their vision of the past is imaginary, and they have no future, but their destructive energy has changed the world.
In this warped universe, Renee Good is not a mother who was killed while standing up for her community; she's a pronoun-wielding gender terrorist who deserved to die. The Trump administration's ideology is built on lies, abuses, and perversions of justice, and it must be confronted head-on.
As we move forward in this era of fascism, it's essential to recognize that the line between verifiable reality and paranoid delusion has become unsustainable. We need to resist the spread of misinformation and create a world where facts matter, and truth is valued above all else. The fate of our democracy depends on it.