There’s a certain art to political messaging, and the Trump administration has mastered one of its most powerful forms: the meme. But this isn’t just about trolling for trolling’s sake. It’s about cultural fluency, digital dominance, and a sense of humor that the Left still doesn’t quite know how to handle.
Take the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Kristi Noem. In an era where many government agencies maintain a rigid, sterile online presence, Noem’s DHS has done the opposite — embracing satire, leveraging cultural references, and speaking directly to the digital-native generation of conservatives who are tired of being told they’re not allowed to laugh. The latest example? A full-blown Lord of the Rings-themed ICE recruitment campaign that’s part meme, part rallying cry, and all brilliant.
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Get Criminals Out. Make History. Save America.https://t.co/nZkBEj3GGi pic.twitter.com/0If5QGaX2N
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 12, 2025
Yes, that’s right. ICE — usually portrayed in legacy media as the embodiment of bureaucratic coldness — just posted a Tolkien-themed call to arms. The post evokes Gandalf’s haunting line before the fall of Minas Tirith, paired with the Ents’ march to war and King Théoden’s last stand against the dark tide. It’s not just imagery — it’s metaphor, deployed with surgical precision.
The message? The forces of lawlessness and open borders are not just a political inconvenience — they’re an existential threat to order, sovereignty, and the rule of law. And just as Saruman’s corruption of Isengard demanded a response from the free peoples of Middle-earth, the Biden administration’s negligence — or in some views, willful abandonment — of America’s southern border has triggered a necessary response.
Naturally, the post blew up.
“The board is set, the pieces are moving. We come to it at last, the great battle of our time.” pic.twitter.com/G6BXEwkOQS
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 29, 2025
Within hours, Tolkien fans across X (formerly Twitter) jumped into the fray. Memes of Grima Wormtongue as Alejandro Mayorkas. Joe Biden reimagined as a crumbling Denethor, casting America’s defenses aside in a fit of despair. A leaderboard comparing ICE agents’ enforcement stats to Legolas and Gimli’s orc-slaying competition. Even the Ents got their due, standing in for grassroots citizens who’ve finally decided this is the moment to rise.
And it wasn’t just clever. It was effective. ICE’s recruiting numbers are reportedly surging, in part due to this very campaign. When a government agency can speak the cultural language of its target audience — in this case, patriotic Tolkien fans who understand the stakes — it becomes something more than bureaucracy. It becomes a cause.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 29, 2025
But perhaps the most striking part of the entire episode is what it reveals about the Left’s inability to keep up. For years, progressives have tried to brand conservatives as humorless authoritarians. But increasingly, it’s the Left that can’t take a joke — or a meme. Every time the Trump administration or its agencies engage in this kind of digital storytelling, left-wing commentators respond with scolding, fact-checks, or accusations of “incitement.” They never realize that they’ve already lost the thread.
Because the real battle isn’t just political — it’s cultural. And culture is now downstream of memes.
