From memes in which he appears dressed as the pope or as a Jedi master, to exclusive briefings for sympathizers of conspiracy theories, Donald Trump's White House seems to be creating an alternate media reality that redefines presidential communication in the United States.

In his second term, Trump has intensified his confrontation with the traditional media, but now he is going further: his communications team is pushing a government press operation that privileges influencers and far-right media, increasingly excluding the mainstream press.

Last week, presidential spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt conducted three exclusive briefings for selected media, away from traditional press conferences and held in a special auditorium to which free access is not allowed. At one of these meetings, activist Jack Posobiec was greeted with a revealing phrase: "I totally agree with the thrust of your question, which is not normally the case when I am at the podium."

Another guest was Dom Lucre, known for promoting conspiracy theories of the QAnon movement, who asked whether figures such as Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton could be investigated. The White House did not respond to AFP's queries about this new communication strategy.

A media ecosystem of his own

During his 2024 campaign, Trump had already begun to surround himself with right-wing podcasters and content creators, influenced in part by his son Barron. But now that tactic has become institutionalized in the very heart of government.

According to the media outlet Axios, "the Trump White House has become the hottest media outlet on the right." The problem, analysts warn, is that this strategy can create a communication bubble that distorts reality.

"A space has been created with alternate versions of the facts, where governance is no longer tied to reality," said Sonia Gipson Rankin, a law professor at the University of New Mexico, in statements to AFP. In a second term, she added, this "media echo" could become even more hermetic.

One example of this tactic is the new White House Wire site, which mimics the design of the conservative Drudge Report portal and links exclusively to pro-government stories. The president's son, Donald Trump Jr. introduced it on the social network X with the message, "Give the middle finger to fake news and visit WH Wire!".

At the same time, the White House has reduced the access of agencies such as the Associated Press, after a disagreement over refusing to use the expression "Gulf of America", as Trump now demands to call the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition, the presidential team assumed full control of the media that make up the "press pool," the small group authorized to closely cover events in the Oval Office or on Air Force One.

Memes, IA and culture war

In this new ecosystem, AI-generated images and provocative memes have become central tools. Trump's official Truth Social account recently shared an image in which the president appears as the pope, just days after Francis' funeral. Although he denied posting it personally, he said his wife Melania "thought it was cute."

"They can't take a joke," Trump told reporters when asked about it.

Then, on May 4 - a day celebrated by Star Wars fans as "May the Fourth" - the White House released an image of a muscular Trump wielding a lightsaber. "You are not the Rebellion - you are the Empire," the message read, alluding to his Democratic opponents.

The irony did not go unnoticed: the lightsaber was red, a color that in the Star Wars universe identifies the villains of the Dark Side.

Meanwhile, the country observes how the line between propaganda, satire and official information is blurring in an increasingly polarized political context. Let's hope this strategy does not have the opposite of the desired effects.

With information from AFP