Latest news with #DarkBrandon
Sky News AU
6 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Democrat taco truck stunt trolling Donald Trump 'chickens out' sign backfires on social media: 'Can't fix stupid'
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) parked a custom-wrapped food truck in front of the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., in an effort to troll President Trump over his tariff policies. The stunt received widespread mockery from conservatives. The DNC used the acronym TACO for "Trump Always Chickens Out" to provoke Trump's ire. The phrase was coined by Wall Street analysts when referring to Trump's tariff policies, suggesting Trump will walk back the steep reciprocal tariffs he announced in April. "Trump always chickens out. We're just bringing the tacos to match," DNC Chair Ken Martin told Fox News Digital of the effort. The move did not impress conservatives on social media who highlighted it as an example of Democrats struggling with their messaging during Trump's presidency. "The party that brought you the hugely successful 'Dark Brandon' and 'Republicans are Weird' campaigns are now going all in on 'TACO,'" Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross posted on X. "We have the lamest opposition in American history," Vice President JD Vance posted on X. "Democrats are doing what they do best: cheap gimmicks, free handouts, and I wouldn't be surprised if they stuck us with the bill," Western Regional & National Hispanic press secretary Christian Martinez posted on X. In a statement to Fox News Digital, NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella mocked the DNC for parking the truck at a church a block away. "Looks like the Democrats took a break from fighting amongst themselves to stage a pathetic stunt," Marinella said. The most embarrassing part? They couldn't even get the location right. You can't fix stupid." "LMFAO," Zach Parkinson, RNC communications director, told Fox News Digital. "A taco truck? Are they going to be giving out free vasectomies again, too? These people are morons. No wonder Democrats' approval rating is at a historic low." Abhi Rahman, the DNC's deputy communications director, took aim at Vance's X post, telling Fox News Digital Democrats know Vance is the "cringiest VP in American history." "We understand that JD Vance, the cringiest VP in American history who cannot order a donut like a normal human being, prefers to take food away from people, including 40 million Americans whose SNAP benefits were just scrapped in the GOP budget," he said. Earlier this week, conservative commentators took aim at a TikTok posted by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., in which he is filmed eating a taco in an attempt to mock Trump's tariff strategy, and some declared it "cringeworthy." Originally published as Democrat taco truck stunt trolling Donald Trump 'chickens out' sign backfires on social media: 'Can't fix stupid'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
DNC taco truck stunt trolling Trump backfires on social media with Vance, GOP: 'Can't fix stupid'
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) parked a custom-wrapped food truck in front of the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., in an effort to troll President Trump over his tariff policies. The stunt received widespread mockery from conservatives. The DNC used the acronym TACO for "Trump Always Chickens Out" to provoke Trump's ire. The phrase was coined by Wall Street analysts when referring to Trump's tariff policies, suggesting Trump will walk back the steep reciprocal tariffs he announced in April. Treasury Secretary Confronts Cbs Host Over Past Tariff Inflation Predictions As Rates Hit 4-Year-low "Trump always chickens out. We're just bringing the tacos to match," DNC Chair Ken Martin told Fox News Digital of the effort. The move did not impress conservatives on social media who highlighted it as an example of Democrats struggling with their messaging during Trump's presidency. Read On The Fox News App "The party that brought you the hugely successful 'Dark Brandon' and 'Republicans are Weird' campaigns are now going all in on 'TACO,'" Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross posted on X. "We have the lamest opposition in American history," Vice President JD Vance posted on X. "Democrats are doing what they do best: cheap gimmicks, free handouts, and I wouldn't be surprised if they stuck us with the bill," Western Regional & National Hispanic press secretary Christian Martinez posted on X. Trump Warns Court Ruling Against Tariffs Could Lead To 'Economic Ruination' Of Us In a statement to Fox News Digital, NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella mocked the DNC for parking the truck at a church a block away. "Looks like the Democrats took a break from fighting amongst themselves to stage a pathetic stunt," Marinella said. The most embarrassing part? They couldn't even get the location right. You can't fix stupid." "LMFAO," Zach Parkinson, RNC communications director, told Fox News Digital. "A taco truck? Are they going to be giving out free vasectomies again, too? These people are morons. No wonder Democrats' approval rating is at a historic low." Abhi Rahman, the DNC's deputy communications director, took aim at Vance's X post, telling Fox News Digital Democrats know Vance is the "cringiest VP in American history." "We understand that JD Vance, the cringiest VP in American history who cannot order a donut like a normal human being, prefers to take food away from people, including 40 million Americans whose SNAP benefits were just scrapped in the GOP budget," he said. Earlier this week, conservative commentators took aim at a TikTok posted by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., in which he is filmed eating a taco in an attempt to mock Trump's tariff strategy, and some declared it "cringeworthy." Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch contributed to this article source: DNC taco truck stunt trolling Trump backfires on social media with Vance, GOP: 'Can't fix stupid'
The Hill
24-03-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Inside the White House's social media strategy
Cabinet secretaries and agency heads are regularly cutting direct-to-viewer videos to press home Trump's 'America first' message on X, the company owned by billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk, while White House staffers pillory critics in real time on the platform. The White House started posting last week on Truth Social, Trump's own platform where he regularly breaks news with statements. The administration has also posted brash videos to Instagram about migrant deportations — highlighting a core issue Trump campaigned on. 'It's not engagement for engagement's sake,' White House deputy communications director Kaelan Dorr told The Hill in an interview. 'We're effectively communicating a message.' On Valentine's Day, the White House posted a poem alongside photos of Trump and border czar Tom Homan: 'Roses are red, violets are blue, come here illegally and we'll deport you.' Dorr maintained that the sometimes 'irreverent' tone coming from the administration online is connecting with users, particularly people ages 25-34. And the scale of the digital effort has grown. X, previously called Twitter, is where the administration has gotten the most traction, Dorr said. While Musk does not have a formal role in the administration's social media strategy, his command of the platform has helped set the tone for defending the president's agenda and hitting back at critics. In addition to now posting on Truth Social, the White House recently also expanded to conservative site Rumble. One platform the White House isn't actively engaging on just yet: TikTok. The embattled video-sharing app is wildly popular among American users, particularly young people, but is banned across federal devices. And while Trump's campaign posted regularly on TikTok, the White House does not have a verified account and is not creating content for the app. However, that will change if TikTok severs ties with the Chinese government, according to a White House official. Trump, through executive action, delayed enforcement of the ban on TikTok in the U.S. for 75 days, setting an April 5 deadline to hash out a deal for it to divest from China-based parent company ByteDance. Many of the digital tactics, including the White House's 'Rapid Response 47' account on X and its direct, sometimes emoji-touting posts, resemble online communications sent during the campaign. The Biden administration and Biden-Harris campaigns often generated buzz by embracing sometimes ambiguous memes like 'Dark Brandon' and 'Brat' in social media posts. Dorr said his driving focus behind each post is 'what's the purpose' and they work to avoid glomming onto trends. 'We're speaking to people in a language they understand,' Dorr said. Annelise Russell, a public policy professor at the University of Kentucky, said the political communication climate has shifted significantly since Trump's first term eight years ago, and the new White House team appears to be navigating platforms more effectively. 'Understanding the digital audience and what's possible, I think there is a lot of awareness there,' she said. The pace of the White House's digital effort has also increased. Trump regularly makes news during on-camera appearances multiple times a day. That's pushed digital staffers to race to keep up. Dan Scavino, Trump's deputy chief of staff, frequently shares behind-the-scenes activities to his nearly 2.4 million followers across his personal and official accounts, including hallway views of Trump walking from one engagement to the next. Last week, Scavino posted a popular meme of Trump pointing and nodding his head. Written across the aide's version, which came after federal workers were ordered to return to their offices: 'Guess who needs to go to work tomorrow?' The often-confrontational style and tone shared across the White House accounts has been mimicked throughout the administration. Like Trump, some agency heads have started posting direct-to-camera videos, including Homan, Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. And like the White House accounts, departments in the administration have created their own viral videos. The U.S. Border Patrol has posted multiple quick-cut clips set to tracks from pop music, including a video last month showing an aerial view of a border vehicle patrolling the Southern border. The post included audio of a Black Eyed Peas song with the lyrics 'Right at the borderline, That's where I'm gonna wait, for you, I'll be looking out, night and day.' The post garnered hundreds of thousands of 'likes' since it was published last month. And while Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles in December reportedly ordered nominees awaiting Senate confirmation to run social media posts by White House counsel, the White House does not have a formal process for signing off on individual agencies' posts. Dorr said the White House wants to encourage creativity from staffers across the administration. 'That's the beauty of this — anybody can do it if they believe in the administration and have the confidence to do it,' he said. – Reporting by Elizabeth Crisp
