Topline
The Trump administration boasted on social media Friday it is “deportationmaxxing,” an apparent adaptation of popular online lingo like “looksmaxxing”—the latest instance of the administration using memes or Gen Z slang to appeal to young social media users.
Key Facts
The Department of Homeland Security’s official X account posted a graphic Friday afternoon with the word “deportationmaxxing” superimposed over a picture of authorities detaining immigrants, captioned, “Locked in. Total optimization. Zero compromises.”
Earlier Friday, the White House posted a similar graphic with “deportationmaxxing” prominently displayed over a photo of immigrants being detained.
Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement is “deportationmaxxing” in an interview with NewsNation on Thursday, boasting the administration booked more people into ICE detention in June than any other month since Trump returned to office.
The term appears to follow an internet slang convention of adding “-maxxing” to a word to mean the user is doing that action to its fullest.
Clavicular, the controversial influencer known for promoting extreme “looksmaxxing” techniques, reacted to Homan’s use of “deportationmaxxing” in a post on X, simply writing: “Hello??”
How Else Has The Trump Administration Used Memes And Slang?
Last month, the Department of the Interior said it was “auramaxxing” Washington, D.C. for the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations. The White House bragged about the length of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in a post last month, noting it’s bigger than the nation’s tallest building. “Mogged,” the post is captioned, a slang term common among young people meaning to outdo someone. In an especially bizarre post, the White House posted a TikTok video on June 7 to celebrate the viral “67” meme, which begins with the face of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., superimposed over the sun in “Teletubbies,” before transitioning to Trump dancing. The administration has increasingly embraced social media, including TikTok, as a venue for messaging. Earlier this week, much of Trump’s Cabinet joined TikTok after the Justice Department informed federal employees it is safe to use the app after it moved to a U.S.-approved owner.
tangent
The White House and DHS have also repeatedly used intellectual property in social media posts, ostensibly without permission, sometimes to the ire of the artists or companies who own the rights to their work. Earlier this week, the White House used Katy Perry’s “Firework” in a TikTok video threatening strikes on Iran, and it used a scene from “The Odyssey” in a post that says, “Don’t bet against the king”—apparently referring to Trump. Last month, the White House’s use of “Bye” by Ariana Grande prompted a rebuke from the singer, who said: “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. F— ICE.” Other artists, including Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and SZA have also objected to the administration using their music on social media.
key background
More than 43,000 people were booked into ICE detention centers in June, the most of any month in Trump’s second term, ICE data released earlier this week shows. The number of detentions was slightly higher than December, when about 42,000 were detained as the Trump administration conducted a large-scale operation in Minneapolis. Immigrants without criminal records make up 79% of detainees nationwide, the ICE data shows.
This year, the Trump administration found its voice, and it’s all memes and ragebait (CNN)
More people booked into ICE detention in June than in any month since crackdown began (CBS News)
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