Amid mass layoffs at Bungie, the official White House X account issues sociopathic Destiny 2 meme

In its latest videogame-themed, AI-generated meme, the official White House X account has published a Destiny 2 character sheet featuring an unrealistically ripped Donald Trump wielding a Gjallarhorn.

“Eyes up, Guardians,” reads the official tweet. In the image itself, a muscular, Duke Nukem-esque Donald Trump wields the United States flag against a backdrop of fighter jets and a Rolls Royce. In a piece of blunt-edged state propaganda that would have Edward Bernays rolling in his grave, Trump bears a power level of 4700 (the max in actual Destiny 2 is 550, for what it’s worth) and is equipped with a B2 Bomber companion, which costs “over $2 billion” per unit and was most recently deployed in America’s attack on Iran.

The White House and its departments have been issuing videogame-themed, AI-generated propaganda for years now. Earlier today Homeland Security riffed on the cover art for The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker to celebrate the US Coast Guard. Secretary Brooke Rollins riffed on GTA 6 in a recent video. The Department of Labor and The United States Customs and Border Protection have both taken a swing at GTA 6 as well. And those are just examples from the last seven days.

As Andy Chalk reported in March, the White House issued a spray of videogame-themed AI propaganda to promote its attack on Iran.

While none are subtle, or examples of great statesmanship, the White House’s latest is especially poorly timed: today Washington-based Bungie announced sweeping layoffs. Sony executive Hermen Hulst said the layoffs would affect “a significant number of employees, including most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members.” With that context added, it looks very much like the president of the United States is mocking hundreds of now out-of-work developers.

That, or the White House’s meme was devised before these layoffs were announced —Destiny 2 is experiencing a bittersweet renaissance at the moment—but that would only make it slightly less deranged. And it’s hard to tell who this meme is meant to appeal to, save for the kind of person who pays Elon Musk at least $3 a month for a meaningless blue tick next to their name.

Whichever is true, It’s just another example of the United States government’s nightmarish slip into malevolent parody. Developers have responded to the disposal of “generational talent” with far more tact.