President Donald Trump has by no means handled social media like a ceremonial platform. It’s a stage — one the place energy is exaggerated, critics are caricatured and each publish is framed as proof that he’s in management.
However a current picture felt like a deliberate escalation. The tone wasn’t simply defiant. It was one thing tougher, extra primal and the textual content overlay shortly grew to become the half individuals couldn’t cease dissecting.
The official White Home X account shared a meme-style picture of Trump posed on a mock TIME journal cowl, staring straight into the digicam with a tough, unsmiling expression, chin resting on clasped arms on the Resolute desk within the Oval Workplace. Above the picture, the caption reads, “Completely happy Presidents’ Day, Mr. President.”
However the celebratory framing didn’t final lengthy. It was the textual content beneath the picture that shortly drew a re-evaluation.
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“’I used to be the hunted, now I’m the hunter.’ President Donald J. Trump,” it reads.
With no further context on its that means, social media erupted with anger and theories.
“The present regime is fully made up of incompetent, mendacious trolls,” Threads person Suzan Renee proclaimed.
One other made the purpose with simply two phrases, “Simply sickening!” One other fumed, “Jesus Herald Christ. Wtf is flawed with this dude.”
Others imagine Trump and his henchmen are attempting to scare Individuals much more than they already are and marvel if he’s inadvertently set his personal lure.
“That is meant to frighten all of us. It doesn’t. It makes me offended and eager to ship your complete pack of wolves on this administration to jail for treason,” this Threads person declared.
One other mocked, “This hunter will certainly fall into his personal lure, it’s not over till justice is served.”
“Oh good, extra proof of his prosecutions being politically motivated and vindictive! Such a little bit man,” wrote one other.
All through his 2024 presidential marketing campaign, Trump overtly promised retribution in opposition to political opponents, members of the press, and officers concerned in investigations into his conduct each throughout and following his first presidency.
Since returning to workplace, he has tried to comply with via, focusing on figures comparable to former FBI Director James Comey, former Nationwide Safety Adviser John Bolton, and New York Legal professional Basic Letitia James, whereas additionally reshaping the Justice Division and revoking safety clearances.
In opposition to that backdrop, critics argue, a Presidents Day message centered on being “the hunter” feels much less like patriotic pageantry and extra like a declaration of intent.
However it isn’t even the primary time Trump and his administration have used this phrase “hunted” vs “hunter.”
Trump used the phrase throughout an interview with NewsNation final month when he instructed reporter Katie Pavlich what he thought the distinction was between his first and second time period.
“In a manner, I used to be the hunted, and now I’m extra of the hunter,” a spiteful Trump boasted.
Final July, the White Home X account posted the same Trump meme with the identical phrase — “I used to be the hunted – NOW I’M THE HUNTER — plastered throughout the underside. The one distinction was the caption: “They got here after the flawed man.”
And whereas the wording was totally different — the language nonetheless signaled warning.
Reactions then have been much like now.
Lorenzo stated on the time, “This publish by The White Home X account, crosses a line that ought to concern each American, no matter occasion. This isn’t simply excessive marketing campaign propaganda,” he wrote.
Including, “It’s a direct use of presidency branding to advertise one man’s narrative of vengeance, utilizing militaristic imagery and cult like symbolism. “I used to be the hunted now I’m the hunter”? That’s not the language of democracy. That’s one thing else fully. The presidency isn’t a weapon. And the White Home isn’t a marketing campaign software.”
One other put it extra succintly, “What the f*** is that this AI shit?”
The criticism appeared to have rolled off the again of Trump’s administration as they’ve pressed on.
Presidents Day, initially established to honor George Washington’s birthday, advanced right into a broader celebration of American presidents and the beliefs of public service and democratic management. For critics, the White Home’s newest publish stands in stark distinction to that custom — changing reflection with grievance, and turning a nationwide vacation into what some see as a menace of extra to come back.
