White House Establishes "The Arrests Will Continue. The Memes Will Continue" as Official Communications Doctrine

On March 27, 2025, after posting an AI-generated image in Studio Ghibli anime style showing a crying Dominican woman being arrested by ICE, White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr responded to criticism by establishing what would become the administration’s defining communications tagline:

“The arrests will continue. The memes will continue.”

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson amplified the message to NPR, stating: “The White House consistently posts banger memes.” This exchange transformed what had been Trump’s personal social media style into explicit, defended doctrine across federal agencies. The March 27 articulation marked the moment trolling officially became government policy, with a senior White House official declaring that provocative meme-based communication would continue regardless of public response, criticism, or democratic norms.

The Studio Ghibli Incident

The immediate trigger for Dorr’s statement was controversy over a White House social media post featuring an AI-generated image styled to mimic Studio Ghibli animation (the acclaimed Japanese studio behind films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro). The image depicted:

• A crying Dominican woman
• Being arrested by ICE agents
• Rendered in the distinctive soft, emotional aesthetic of Ghibli films
• Posted to official White House social media accounts

Critics immediately identified the post as:

• Copyright violation: Unauthorized use of Ghibli’s distinctive visual style
• Dehumanization: Packaging human suffering in children’s animation aesthetic
• Appropriation: Using beloved art style associated with empathy/wonder for enforcement propaganda
• AI-generated: Part of broader pattern of synthetic media flooding government accounts

Studio Ghibli, known for themes of empathy, environmental protection, and critique of militarism, had their aesthetic co-opted to depict immigration enforcement—a perverse inversion of the studio’s humanistic values.

“The Arrests Will Continue. The Memes Will Continue”

When questioned about the Studio Ghibli post, Kaelan Dorr’s response established official doctrine. The phrasing itself is significant:

“The arrests will continue”: Immigration enforcement policy stated as fait accompli, not subject to democratic deliberation or modification based on public response.

“The memes will continue”: Government communications will maintain troll culture aesthetics, AI-generated content, and provocative imagery regardless of criticism.

The parallel construction links the two: enforcement actions and their communication strategy are presented as equally non-negotiable aspects of governance. Critics can object to either, but both will proceed unchanged.

The tagline would be repeated throughout 2025 by White House officials and plastered across government social media, becoming shorthand for the administration’s rejection of traditional government communication norms.

Abigail Jackson: “Banger Memes”

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson’s statement to NPR provided official validation:

“The White House consistently posts banger memes.”

The use of internet slang (“banger memes”) in official capacity to defend government communication strategy demonstrates several dynamics:

Deliberate informality: Rejection of traditional government spokesperson language and tone.

Youth-oriented framing: “Banger” appeals to Gen Z/Millennial internet culture, positioning criticism as generational gap rather than legitimate concern.

Quality claim: Not just “we post memes” but “we post banger memes”—asserting superior skill at internet trolling as government competency.

Defensive pride: Jackson’s tone was not apologetic but celebratory—the White House was proud of its meme production and would explicitly defend it.

Her statement to NPR—a tier-1 news organization seeking clarification on government communications strategy—treated meme quality as equivalent to policy substance. The spokesperson’s job had shifted from explaining policy to defending content strategy.

Kaelan Dorr’s Profile: Troll Aesthetics as Identity

Dorr’s commitment to trolling as communication strategy extended beyond official statements. His personal X (Twitter) profile banner features the text:

“oMg, diD tHe wHiTE hOuSE reALLy PosT tHiS?”

The mocking mixed-case font (known as “mocking SpongeBob” format from internet culture) is used to ridicule people expressing surprise or outrage. By making this his profile banner, Dorr:

• Announced trolling as deliberate: The surprise/outrage is the intended response
• Pre-mocked critics: Made criticism itself the punchline by anticipating and ridiculing it
• Signaled in-group membership: Used internet-culture reference to demonstrate “cultural fluency”
• Established brand identity: Positioned himself as government troll, not traditional communications director

A July 2025 White House lawn sign photo showed the same text physically displayed at the White House, with caption “Nowhere in the Constitution does it say we can’t post banger memes.” The physical manifestation of internet troll aesthetics at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue represented the complete merger of online culture with government authority.

Establishing Framework for All Federal Agencies

While Dorr and Jackson’s March 27 statements came from White House communications staff, they established framework that would be adopted across federal agencies throughout 2025:

Department of Homeland Security:

• October 27: Halo “DESTROY THE FLOOD” recruitment post
• July: Batman recruitment video with Biblical verse
• August: South Park screenshot recruitment post
• June-October: ICE arrest videos set to pop music

White House Official Accounts:

• February 18: “ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight” video
• July 11: AI-generated Trump as Superman
• July 23: “The deportations will continue. The memes will continue.”
• October 18: Trump AI video dumping feces on protesters (reposted by @WhiteHouse)

Each agency adopted the “memes will continue” doctrine as permission structure to use troll culture aesthetics, AI-generated content, video game references, and provocative imagery in official communications.

The “Banger Memes” Strategy: McLaughlin’s Explanation

White House Digital Content Director Billy McLaughlin explained the comprehensive strategy in an August 2025 Fox News op-ed:

“We did not build a cautious, government-style account. We built a fast, culturally fluent content machine designed to cut through the noise and win online.”

He described creating:

• “An ASMR-style video of deportations”
• “A Jedi Trump with a bicep vein battling the deep state”
• “Surreal ‘Make It Rain’ Gemini AI-generated storm of cash over the White House”

Concluding: “Every post had intention.”

McLaughlin’s framing is critical: the troll content was not accidental, reactive, or the work of rogue staffers. It was intentional strategy designed by senior White House communications officials to “cut through the noise and win online.”

The stated metrics:

• “Over 16 million new followers” across platforms
• “Billions of video views”
• Growth “fastest among Americans aged 18-34”

Success was measured not by policy understanding or democratic engagement, but by engagement metrics identical to those used by influencers and content creators. Government communication had become content strategy.

Press Secretary Leavitt: “Quite Refreshing”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (age 28) provided official validation in an October 1 briefing:

“He’s incredibly transparent, as you all know. You hear from him directly on social media. He likes to share memes. He likes to share videos. He likes to repost things that he sees other people post on social media, as well, and I think it’s quite refreshing that we have a president who is so open and honest, directly himself.”

When asked if Trump took pleasure in threatening federal layoffs during the October government shutdown, Leavitt responded: “He likes to have a little fun.”

Leavitt’s framing repositions trolling as “transparency” and “honesty”—the president isn’t violating norms, he’s being authentic. Memes aren’t unpresidential, they’re “refreshing.” Threatening federal employees isn’t cruel, he’s “having a little fun.”

This rhetorical strategy transforms criticism into compliment: what opponents call norm-violation becomes evidence of genuineness. The more shocking the behavior, the more it proves Trump is “directly himself” rather than constrained by establishment expectations.

The Irony Poisoning Defense

The “memes will continue” doctrine operates through what internet culture researchers call “irony poisoning”—the use of humor and irony to simultaneously express and deny sincerity.

When White House officials say they post “banger memes,” they’re:

• Expressing contempt: The memes mock opponents, depicting violence/humiliation
• Maintaining deniability: “It’s just a meme” / “Can’t you take a joke?”
• Pre-empting criticism: Making mockery of critics part of the content itself
• Creating in-group bonding: Shared laughter at opponent suffering

Hannah Arendt identified this communication pattern in totalitarian regimes: creating “non-thinking situations” where everything is simultaneously true and false. When government accounts post both serious policy announcements and troll memes in identical aesthetic registers, the distinction between governance and performance collapses.

Critics face impossible bind: Object and prove you “can’t take a joke.” Don’t object and normalize the behavior. The setup ensures the trolling succeeds either way.

Comparison to Authoritarian Communication Patterns

Political scientists studying democratic backsliding identify the “memes will continue” doctrine as consistent with authoritarian communication strategies:

Rodrigo Duterte (Philippines): Mixed death squad admissions with crude jokes, defended communication style as getting results that elite norms prevented.

Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil): Ran 70% social media campaign using memes legitimizing violence, with supporters creating professional fake news distribution networks.

Steve Bannon’s Doctrine: “The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.”

The shared pattern: overwhelming opposition through volume and vulgarity, making traditional accountability mechanisms fail to gain purchase when everything is framed as performance/satire/humor.

The U.S. innovation was institutionalizing this at federal level with explicit doctrinal statements from White House communications officials that trolling would continue as stated policy.

Significance: Trolling as Governing Philosophy

The March 27 establishment of “the arrests will continue, the memes will continue” doctrine represents several unprecedented shifts:

Official Validation: Senior White House officials explicitly defending troll culture aesthetics as legitimate government communications strategy.

Linking Policy and Communication: The parallel structure positions enforcement policy and trolling communication as equally central to governance.

Rejection of Accountability: The “will continue” phrasing makes clear that criticism, media coverage, or public response will not modify behavior.

Inter-Agency Adoption: DHS, ICE, and White House accounts all adopted the framework, making it government-wide doctrine rather than one person’s style.

Metrics Over Substance: McLaughlin’s focus on follower counts and video views as success metrics represents shift from democratic communication to content creator logic.

Permission Structure: Once the White House validated “banger memes” as acceptable government output, agencies throughout federal government adopted troll aesthetics.

The Normalization Arc

The progression from March 27 through November 2025:

March 27: Doctrine established with Studio Ghibli incident February-July: Accelerating use of troll aesthetics across agencies August: McLaughlin op-ed codifies comprehensive strategy October: DHS Halo post and Trump feces video represent full normalization November: “Memes will continue” has become unremarkable—the controversy cycle has exhausted itself

Each incident that generated outrage, media coverage, and then no consequence established precedent for the next escalation. By November, posting video game imagery comparing immigrants to parasites or AI videos of presidential defecation on protesters generates brief controversy before being absorbed into the content stream.

The “flood the zone with shit” strategy succeeded: when everything is simultaneously outrageous and “just a joke,” appropriate emotional response to democratic norm collapse becomes impossible to maintain.

Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s research on democratic erosion identifies this as the critical mechanism: once norms are violated without sanction, the violations become the new baseline. What was unthinkable becomes routine. What was routine is forgotten.

When White House communications staff state that troll memes are official doctrine, defended by spokesperson as “quite refreshing,” amplified across federal agencies, and measured by engagement metrics—the question is not whether this violates democratic communication norms. The question is whether those norms retain any constraining force.

By March 27, 2025, the answer was clear: The arrests will continue. The memes will continue. And they did.