It is why the government allows friendly camera crews to accompany ICE raids, why former Congressman Matt Gaetz is given a Pentagon press credential along with Laura Loomer, and why Vice President J. D. Vance spends his days trolling people on X. It’s why Kristi Noem staged a photo op in front of a cage full of men at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, and why the administration has allowed YouTubers to make videos there. It’s why an assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice is on X, grousing about her follower count stalling at a paltry 1.3 million and asking, “What kind of content do my folks want to see more of to like and share?” And it’s the reason that Katie Miller—who left the Trump administration to work for Elon Musk and then left Musk to start a podcast—posted a photo on X on Saturday showing a map of Greenland colored as an American flag with the caption “SOON.” The U.S. government is concerned first and foremost with spectacle, engaging in both fan service for its most extreme supporters and the constant trolling of its enemies. The resources of the most powerful military in the world are being marshaled in service of making memes declaring, “THIS IS OUR HEMISPHERE.” All because the country’s leaders think it’s good theater, and in a postliterate political era, the spectacle is propulsive.
Author: Charlie Warzel
Published at: 2026-01-06 23:21:41
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