The approach was on full display this week as White House communications director Steven Cheung used social media to mock an upcoming gathering of anti-Trump Republicans by calling it "the Cuck Convention" on his government account. The word, which describes a man who likes to watch his wife have sex with other men, was frequently used during the campaign to insult and emasculate rivals.
On Tuesday, the official White House account posted a video of shackled migrants being loaded onto planes, with the sounds of clanking chains and whirring jet engines in the background. The caption said "ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight."
ASMR stands for “autonomous sensory meridian response," a relaxing and pleasurable feeling some people experience from certain sights or sounds. Critics responded by calling the post “shameful" and “inappropriate" for the White House.
The account also shared a photo of a fake Time magazine cover with Trump in a golden crown and the caption, "LONG LIVE THE KING." Trump had earlier declared an end to New York City's congestion pricing program by making the same declaration.
The posts are outrageous by design.
“The president was sent back to the Oval Office on a historic mandate to aggressively deliver on the promises he made, and one of the many reasons the American public overwhelmingly support President Trump right now is because he does what he says he was going to do,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “He isn’t afraid to defend his positions, and that’s our goal with our messaging every day.”
It’s not a surprise that Trump's campaign tactics have followed him to the White House. Like in other administrations, the West Wing is filled with dozens of former campaign staffers, from the chief of staff to senior communications aides and those who run the White House digital channels.
That includes Cheung, a veteran of Trump’s three campaigns who also worked for Ultimate Fighting Championship. His insulting social media posts are known around the White House as “love taps.” On Wednesday night aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters that Cheung is “a sweetheart” and “you wouldn’t want to get in a fight with him.”
One White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal thinking, emphasized that the administration pursues multiple kinds of messaging simultaneously. While there may be raw language at times, other communications are more formal and measured.
However, the official said, some social media posts are designed to have shock value. While Trump's supporters are energized, his critics are angry — and they end up spreading the president's message even further when they express outrage.
An example came on Valentine's Day, when the White House posted "roses are red, violets are blue, come here illegally and we'll deport you."
Kaelan Dorr, a deputy communications director, followed up by sharing a list of headlines about the post.
"Media eating up our content like a crazy ex," he wrote. “And the best is yet to come!”
Alex Conant, a Republican strategist with experience on presidential campaigns and the White House, said every administration reflects the president, “and this president is feeling super combative.”
“I think they think they won in a landslide and have a mandate and are going to punch back really hard at anyone that undermines that feeling," he said.
While most White House teams feel like they are winning when they're not in the headlines, Conant said, Trump is the opposite and “feels like he needs to dominate the news every single day."
“Their posture is always: Be on offense. Never explain. Never apologize. Never defend,” Conant said. "Just flood the zone as much as you can and stay on offense.”
At the same time, the White House has continued other campaign strategies. Trump was the first sitting president in history to attend the Super Bowl earlier this month, and last weekend made an appearance at the Daytona 500, where he led drivers on two laps around the track in the heavily armored presidential limousine known as "The Beast."
Trump's campaign used his appearances at UFC fights and football games to connect with Americans who don't closely follow politics or engage with traditional news sources — a strategy that could continue to bolster his approval ratings as he pursues his White House agenda.
Critics say Trump's approach marks a break from past administrations, which have generally tried to lower the temperature as staff members transition from partisan campaign aides to taxpayer-paid public servants.
Kate Berner, who worked on former President Joe Biden’s communications team during the 2020 campaign and followed him to the White House, said Biden “never would have allowed us to use language like that" used by current White House officials, even on the campaign trail.
“You can communicate aggressively, clearly in the way that real people talk around the country, and not in the way that’s disrespecting or degrading or something that we wouldn’t want our kids to mimic," she said.
As for the ASMR post, Berner said, "it’s just another way that they’re showing that they’re focused just on the base and not on being a president for all Americans.”
One frequent target for Trump allies is Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat who participated in the House Intelligence Committee investigation of Russian election interference several years ago.
“We were promised cheap eggs. Instead, all we’re getting is cheap talk and cheap shots,” Swalwell said.
The latest round of sniping came when Swalwell tried to blame Trump for a series of plane crashes since he became president.
Cheung responded with an official statement saying it was "false and disgusting" to suggest the president was at fault. On social media, Cheung added a sexual insult and referenced Swalwell's contact with a suspected Chinese spy years ago. Swalwell has previously said he cut off contact with the woman after federal investigators raised concerns.
Ari Fleischer, who served as White House press secretary under President George W. Bush, said aggressive political messaging is nothing new.
He said the Clinton administration embraced “the permanent campaign” with aggressive messaging and the tools available at the time, while President Barack Obama used YouTube to release official videos that in another medium might have been seen as government propaganda.
“I see the Trump White House as a continuation of all of the above. It's just that we’re in a sharper era," Fleischer said. "Their messages are arguably tougher. But it’s a continuation of a pattern that began decades ago.”
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Colvin reported from New York.