Trump posts meme saying he's ‘on a mission from God' featuring alt-right symbol Pepe the Frog
Co-opting a famous phrase from the 1980 John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd classic The Blues Brothers, Donald Trump posted a cryptic meme on Wednesday night declaring that he is 'on a mission from God' which also features an alt-right symbol in the background.
Showing the president walking down a dark city street, the image includes the caption 'nothing can stop what is coming.' While the meme itself could be interpreted as the president's response to the U.S. Court of International Trade striking down the majority of his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, it was the image's inclusion of Pepe the Frog – and the fact that it originated from a 'groyper' account – that has drawn the most attention.
Additionally, this latest meme from the president may have boosted a meme coin associated with the far-right movement.
With members of his administration likening the court ruling that Trump 'exceeded his authority' on tariffs to a 'judicial coup,' the president seemingly fired back at the three-judge panel with memes on his Truth Social account. One image the president posted featured a billboard emblazoned with the slogan, 'Trump was right about everything.'
And then there was the Blues Brothers-themed post, which piggybacks on an overarching MAGA theme that God has anointed the president to save the country, a belief among Christian conservatives that ramped up after last July's assassination attempt and has only increased since Trump's election. In fact, the president himself has repeatedly suggested he was 'saved' by Christ because he is the chosen one.
At the same time, the 'mission from God' meme parrots the long-running belief among QAnon adherents that Trump has been given a calling to secretly root out a cabal of cannibalistic pedophiles from within the government and liberal ruling class, and that soon the 'storm will be coming' that will see the mass arrests of prominent Democrats and celebrities.
Trump, who has regularly posted memes and video clips that were created by QAnon conspiracists and far-right extremists, appears to have done the same thing with this particular post.
The far-right corner of the meme tags the Truth Social account @FruitSnacks, who appears to be a 'groyper,' otherwise known as a supporter of notorious white supremacist Nick Fuentes. The person, who also has an account on X with the same FruitSnacks handle, has regularly reshared posts from Fuentes and a news account associated with the virulent antisemite. Of course, Trump infamously dined with Fuentes and Hitler-boosting rapper Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago in 2022.
At the same time, in recent months, it appears that FruitSnacks has grown increasingly jaded with the president following Trump's return to the White House, echoing Fuentes and other far-right MAGA supporters who have sounded off over the administration's perceived lack of action on their pet conspiracy theories.
'There will be no arrests or tribunals. It would have happened by now. Trump is in office, so... what is he waiting for?' FruitSnacks wrote on Truth Social earlier this month, adding in another post about the FBI files on deceased sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein: 'Soooo... how about that Epstein client list?'
Meanwhile, the inclusion of Pepe the Frog, a cartoon figure that has been appropriated by 'groypers' and the alt-right in recent years, sparked excitement in the fever swamps of the internet – and also may have contributed to a slight spike in the crypto market.
$PEPE, a meme coin named for the alt-right symbol, surged 8.5 percent overnight following the president's Truth Social post. While it dropped 5 percent after the spike, the frog-themed token still showed an increase of nearly six percent over a 24 hour period and now has a market cap over $6 billion.
Trump posting a Pepe meme and potentially sparking a crypto rush created quite a bit of chatter on X among the far-right crowd, many of whom have the frog as their avatars. 'Vision of PEPE OF THE UNITED STATES X is here to restore memerican greatness,' one account, which goes by the handle PEPE OF THE UNITED STATES, reacted. 'Trump vibes. Pepe power. Full degen energy.'
Earlier this month, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington reported that as many as fifty of the invitees to Trump's controversial meme coin gala – which featured 220 guests who had spent the most on the president's $TRUMP cryptocurrency – were also holders of the Pepe the Frog coin and other assets linked to far-right extremism.
'The most wallets on the list, 45 in all, held assets named for Pepe the Frog as of May 12—the day winners were finalized—but holdings may have changed since they were analyzed,' CREW noted.
'Nine of the wallets, including some that hold Pepe-themed assets, held assets whose names are outright racist or anti-semitic,' the report added. 'For example, one token is called 'F*** THE JEWS,' while another is simply the n-word. Four others are variations on the word 'swastika,' such as 'Swasticoin' and 'Swastika Coin.''
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
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