No one ever benefited more from putting their serious, and seriously warped, notions — whether self-aggrandizement or self-interested aspirations — out as mere meme "jokes" than Donald Trump, who uses the tactic so he can shrug off tough questions.
The pattern continues apace. They were always outrageous; they're increasingly dangerous.
This isn't about posts in which he makes himself Jesus performing a miracle ("hey, c'mon, I was a doctor, just kidding"). Right. Such posts are a window into how Trump sees himself. As offensive as those posts are, they're benign compared to the "joke" policy memes.
But more and more, he's letting deeply held imperialistic desires run to daylight, the ones that people used to laugh at with the same degree as the Jesus posts. Except now he's matching his "funny" memes with some not-so-comic real-life moves, and the world has noticed. No one is laughing.
To wit:
Yeah, funny, but not in a funny way. First, there is the tragically ironic notion that Trump's Caesar-esque move to "conquer" nearly the entire Western Hemisphere includes — apparently — unleashing ICE's abhorrent violence upon brown people to "deport them back," only to turn around and make everyone south of the Rio Grand citizens, or at least subjects, by planting the stars and stripes above the new states that were formerly the countries to which we booted them. Yes, there is that.
But there is also this. Please consider the U.S. response to a rabidly aggressive populist Chinese dictator who tossed out a map in which China ruled from Japan down through Australia.
The United States would not immediately go to war, but it would not be laughing, either. There would also be some serious re-thinking done in the Pentagon about the possible "expansionist aspirations" in China and protecting American allies along the Pacific rim. After all, such a president, whether in China or here, is self-evidently crazy, and thus unpredictable.
And yet that's what the world sees with "our president," and they're responding the same way we might. Such "innocent joke-posting" may never fully bloom into tanks crossing the 49th parallel or the Rio Grande, but they reflect something deeper within Trump: the belief that the world is his for the taking.
It also seems helpful to once again pull back and strongly consider what any previous president, or normal American, might dream of while looking upon such a map. The "normal 50 states" surrounded by some of the strongest, most loyal allies — friends — that a country could hope to have. Real strength. Granted, no "normal rule" ever constrains Donald Trump's deluded fantasies, no one should ever feel constrained from comparing his behavior to that of a real president, and his priorities.
The president would say they're dangerous. Because they are.
Thankfully, there are signs that a significant dent of American MAGAs are getting tired of it, too. The move to change the official name of Lake Ontario to Lake America (and perhaps even the more humiliating appeasement by Google Maps) did not go over the way Trump planned. The vast majority of Americans not only "disapprove" of the change; one senses that anger tinged with a new hint of fear: "This is getting increasingly hard to ignore; all of this hints just enough of early 20th Century Europe."
Americans best listen to that twinge of fear because Trump's newly proud imperial aspirations aren't limited to meme-maps; he's building the undergirding to support notions in which our "neighbors" are anything but close allies and friends. Take, for example, Trump's recent characterization of Canadians, formerly an example of truly a country's best friend, now reduced to the worst people. From a previous back-and-forth with a reporter:
Reporter: "Why are you so focused on doing things like this towards America's allies, instead of doing things that will target adversaries?"
Trump: "Well, they haven't treated us well. The Canadian officials have treated us very badly; they're nasty people."
Donald Trump said this of the Canadian government during a gaggle in which he mentioned his very productive talks with Vladimir Putin, leading to trust in Putin's Russia. If there were to be a novel fantasy about a Manchurian candidate, surely the last page would have that president talking about the "nasty" people in Ottawa while at the same time emphasizing that Russia's fascist butcher gives him the feels.
He does this while ignoring the well-reported fact that “Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle East.”
Please pause. Please. The American president praised his close talks and trust in a man helping to kill American troops, while calling Canadian leaders "nasty."
Two things: Trump says this while either ignoring or being ignorant of the fact that NORAD's current Deputy Commander is Canadian Lieutenant-General Iain Huddleston. Our primary defense against intercontinental missiles from Russia remains a joint mission with those nasty Canadians. Second, it is extremely difficult to concentrate on this fact without concluding that Donald Trump is insane and that our lives get more dangerous by the day because of it.
All of Trump's meme posting was always "crazy," but it used to be done "all in good fun" from the MAGA side because it was merely to "own the libs," to make us crazy. But somewhere along the way, perhaps sometime even in the run-up to the second administration, it went from insane attempts to "own the libs" and transitioned into "ignoring the libs, and many MAGAs" in an attempt to own the world.
Or at least "joke" about it. Except, circle back, some of the worst plans he implemented began as light-hearted memes.
It is imperative to fight the tendency to now respond with "just ignore him, he's insane." Instead, try to imagine a world in which any U.S. President could A) possibly want to put American flags up and above our conquered former allies, and B) the American president emphasizes his "good relationship" with Russia even as Russia provides Iran information to kill American forces, while calling Canadian officials ‘nasty,' for reasons we truly, truly, fear to really unravel.
But as you fight to repel the natural protective instinct to just ignore the noise, also fight the reflexive assumption that every MAGA sees this and continually supports everything Trump does because that's no longer true and thus there's a sense of optimism in treating this seriously. Every reader knows that Trump is polling at or lower than ever — those numbers come from somewhere; they're a product of former supporters, many of whom did not favor renaming Lake Ontario.
There is a certain irony in the fact that just as liberals give this man's whims decreasing attention — perhaps due to simple exhaustion — two new realities jump in to juxtapose: The world is taking him more seriously than ever, never more afraid of his next unpredictable move, because he's not just name-calling; he's punishing with trade wars and real wars, all while cozying up with real enemies. And another: it would seem that some of his voters also take him more seriously, and a significant number — certainly not most, but certainly a significant number — don't like it.
Need something more than polls? Check out Trump's summer of failures in self-promotion, the Great American State Fair, the 250th, and the empty seats at his Republican Convention.
Yes, by all means, maintain every aggressive instinct. Know that we'll have to fight to ensure a fair election come November — but do it while noting that if there was ever an opportune time to have an election that utterly rejects everything this man stands for, one unfolding before the world's eyes, and one timed to take advantage of his own supporters' disdain for all the decadence and devolution of norms, it's now.
It is true that regular Americans spent a great deal of time wondering whether any of his deranged late-night post-pumping mattered; we now know they do. And it truly doesn't matter that Trump posting as Jesus is as insane as the guy on the corner with a sign saying he's Jesus; none of it degrades Trump's ability to cause trouble around the globe as Commander in Chief and trade chief. Moreover, "Trump being Trump" no longer protects him from all MAGA pushback.
Bottom line. Trump has always been insane, but he is either unable or less willing to constrain it, now popping up just as regularly in international incidents as calling out some liberal celebrity.
No real news here. Except new reasons to be newly concerned. Never get so complacent as to not notice new dangers. This is never more true than when they come with new opportunities, even with age-old sh... adolescent posting, it's more dangerous than ever, but more people are starting to absorb what it means.
Never pass up an opportunity to inform low-info voters or MAGA-adjacent voters as to just how bad things have gotten. To murder a couple of cliches on the way out: When he throws up obvious softballs, for god's sake hit them! Let your MAGA relatives know the direction everything is moving; history is made by those who show up, even when it's just forwarding Trump's latest forays into international chaos.
Jason Miciak is a Raw Story columnist, author, political consultant, attorney, and single parent girldad. Please follow on Bluesky. He can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com.
