King, pope, Jedi, Superman: Trump's social media images exclusively target his base and try to blur political reality

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King, pope, Jedi, Superman: Trump’s social media images exclusively target his base and try to blur political reality
Published: October 21, 2025 2:39pm EDT

Andrew Rojecki
Professor of Communication, University of Illinois Chicago
Tanja Aitamurto
Associate Professor of Communication, University of Illinois Chicago


(The Conversation) A grim-faced President Donald J. Trump looks out at the reader, under the headline “LAW AND ORDER.” Graffiti pictured in the corner of the White House Facebook post reads “Death to ICE.” Beneath that, a photo of protesters, choking on tear gas. And underneath it all, a smaller headline: “President Trump Deploys 2,000 National Guard After ICE Agents Attacked, No Mercy for Lawless Riots and Looters.”

The official communication from the White House appeared on Facebook in June 2025, after Trump sent in troops to quell protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Los Angeles. Visually, it is melodramatic, almost campy, resembling a TV promotion.

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In the Trump administration, White House social media posts often blur the lines between politics and entertainment, and between reality and illusion.

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Most recently, on the weekend of the No Kings protests, both Trump and the White House released a video of the president wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet, from which he dispenses feces onto a crowd of protesters below.

Underpinning it all is a calculated political strategy: an appeal to Trump’s political base – largely white, working-class, rural or small-town, evangelical and culturally conservative. ......................(more)

https://theconversation.com/king-pope-jedi-superman-trumps-social-media-images-exclusively-target-his-base-and-try-to-blur-political-reality-259950