What were once merely informative social media accounts for many government agencies have now spiraled into influencer-style pages that post edits mocking arrests and political groups and glorifying inappropriate behavior.
One of the obvious examples of gross unprofessionalism in our government is evident on the current administration’s public social media accounts.
These official pages all exhibit a degree of impropriety, with their tone-deaf posts and insulting content.
According to The Washington Post, ICE has turned its social media into an influencer-style page.
“But during President Donald Trump’s second term, ICE’s public affairs arm has rapidly transformed into an influencer-style media machine, churning out flashy videos of tactical operations and immigration raids,” The Washington Post said in a December 23 article by Joyce Sohyun Lee and Drew Harwell.
The first example of unprofessionalism exists on the White House official TikTok page, where social media managers post edits about the administration’s activities.
We’ve seen dehumanizing posts making light of recent events, including the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and the arrest of people ranging from illegal immigrants to U.S. citizens by ICE agents.
On December 16, the White House TikTok posted a video depicting detainees being deported by ICE. The post blurs their faces and uses humorous descriptions and silly music like the Christmas song “Jingle Bells,” thus making a comedy out of people being carried away in handcuffs.
This behavior is outrageous because it dehumanizes human beings and puts their arrest online to be laughed at.
On December 11, 2025 the White House TikTok account also posted a TikTok post featuring an edit of a scene from the film “Home Alone” where the character of Kevin McCallister looks at a photo of his older brother Buzz’s girlfriend and throws it away in disgust.
The TikTok edit replaced the image with an unblurred photo of a deportee being held in handcuffs.
We find this to be an immoral invasion of this person’s privacy.
The Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause supports the idea of “innocent until proven guilty.”
Further, the Fourteenth Amendment also guarantees, “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
This means that, regardless of whether these arrested individuals are U.S. citizens, they are still protected by the United States Constitution.
This behavior is egregious, to say the least, and we see this as a slippery slope.
On December 10, 2025, a TikTok posted by the official White House account depicted immigrants traveling on airplanes including the theme song from the 2004 film “Polar Express” with the caption, “All aboard the Deportation Express! Next stop: back to where you came from.”
And it continues.
According to the same Washington Post article, on October 5, 2025, ICE’s X account posted a video of a protester in Portland, Oregon being wheeled into custody by an enforcement officer.
The protestor is face down on a flatbed cart, with the background lyrics, “They see me rollin.”
As this issue goes to print, the post has garnered over 21.7 million views.
On December 3, ICE posted to its official X account with body cam footage of agents detaining and verbally abusing a U.S. citizen of Hispanic descent under suspicion of being an illegal immigrant.
Most recently, on February 6, the President’s official Truth Social account reposted an “internet meme video,” according to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, depicting former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys while other Democratic political oppenents were also depicted as animals. The White House said the meme is based on “The Lion King” and showcases Trump as “King of the Jungle.” We say the meme glorifies racist tropes.
According to CNBC, on the same day, during a gaggle with reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One, Trump said that he will not apologize for the post.
“I didn’t make a mistake,” Trump said.
However, the White House now asserts that an unnamed White House staffer is to blame for the post.
We say accountability trickles upward.
When the government trades unprofessionalism for social media virality, we risk normalizing cruel behavior, which will continue to redefine what society accepts from those in power.
And that should concern everyone.