There is political communication. There is propaganda. And then there is what the White House is publishing these days – a mixture of fast-food aesthetics, authoritarian commands, and post-ironic absurdity. An animated Trump figure in a McDonald’s look stands at the fryer, smiling contentedly, while underneath, bold letters urge the passing of a “Beautiful Bill.” What is sold here as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” is not a piece of legislation – it is a manifesto. And a manifesto for a new political reality, in which politics is no longer explained but served. With plenty of oil. And an extra helping of ideology. “Call your representatives! Tell them to HURRY THE HELL UP!” – that’s what the official White House channel is screaming. No diplomatic appeal, no constitutional respect for parliamentary procedures – but a threat with popcorn. The tone recalls a reality show, not a democracy. Under Donald Trump, the Republicans have turned legislation into a consumer product, and the state into a drive-thru window where “border security, tax cuts, and relief” are ordered like a combo meal.
But what’s actually on the menu? The right side of the graphic reads like the table of contents of a dystopian children’s book: “Funding the Golden Donnie Homeland Defense System,” it says – as if Trump were a national superweapon against all the world’s evils. The Coast Guard is to be upgraded like it was in World War II, fentanyl smuggling to be stopped with “tools,” the military turned into a “lethal fighting force.” It’s the language of a government that no longer wants to lead its people but to discipline them. Between the martial proclamations (“permanently secures our borders,” “law-and-order agenda,” “lethal fighting force”) and the absurd lo-fi look of the video lies an ideological core: This isn’t about legislation – it’s about control. Control over language, control over aesthetics, control over narrative. The Democrats, it says, are “taking their damn time.” A classic enemy image, useful and arbitrary. Because anyone who doesn’t match the tempo of the strongman is labeled an obstacle. Parliamentarism is declared a roadblock – and thus a threat.
Linguistically, the entire communication moves outside the boundaries of democratic norms. Anyone who uses “damn time” in official statements, who stylizes the president as a lo-fi meme while simultaneously calling for national alarm, has abandoned the realm of democratic seriousness. This is the language of a movement, not of a government. And this movement has a name: MAGA. What makes it especially dangerous is how openly authoritarian strategies are packaged in pop culture aesthetics. The trivialization through imagery (“Trump frying fries”), combined with a hyper-aggressive tone (“permanently secures our borders,” “deporting illegal aliens”), creates a sense of control, coolness, and consequence – exactly the blend that authoritarian systems love. They no longer want to persuade, no longer want to debate – they want to penetrate, on loop, in the background of a lo-fi video. And they are doing it successfully. What remains is the bitter aftertaste of a political communication that has definitively bid farewell to democratic discourse. Institutions become props, parliament a nuisance, the opposition a caricature. The future is no longer negotiated through arguments – it is deep-fried, packaged, and sold as a deal. A cheeseburger state, with the president at the grill – and the citizen left only to consume. With ketchup. And obedience.
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