The MAGA ideology has taken a new step in its strategy to expand among the American public, this time with a focus on the younger generation.
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Far from the usual merchandising of flags, caps, and t-shirts with the typical Make America Great Again, the White House makes the leap into the digital realm with the publication of its own propaganda video games on its official website. Through the Arcade.gov portal, the Trump Administration has given a patriotic twist to classic virtual games like Snake or Tetris, incorporating a distinctly anti-immigration theme.
The website, with a neon and retro video game aesthetic, includes five different games, each with a specific theme inspired by the measures the U.S. government has taken during Trump’s second term. The first — and possibly the most innocent — is Flappy Bill, a game whose name refers to bills and is a copy of the famous Flappy Bird. The objective is to make a bird fly through several pipes to achieve the highest possible score.
In the MAGA version, the bird transforms into a bald eagle carrying one of the now usual executive orders signed by Trump in the Oval Office while flying over the National Mall in Washington and dodging the most famous monuments of the esplanade. The national bird of the United States thus carries one of the documents that have become a hallmark of his second term. Specifically, the Republican has signed 277 executive orders in 19 months, one more than Obama during his eight years in the White House and 115 more than Joe Biden.
For the second installment, the White House presents Build the Wall, a copy of the famous Soviet arcade Tetris whose objective is, besides arranging the pieces, to “protect the border from the approaching horde.” Specifically, the southern border of the United States with Mexico must be defended, in this case, from the entry of zombies and aliens. This is a play on words with the term “alien,” which in the U.S. immigration context can refer both to a Martian and to an immigrant. Several Democratic activists have condemned the use of this term as pejorative and dehumanizing.
The anti-immigration propaganda is also reflected in the next game, Rio Run. This copy of Snake allows you to play as Tom Homan, the current director of ICE, who, instead of catching fruit as in the original version, must capture migrants trying to cross the Rio Grande, the natural border between the United States and Mexico. “Patrol the line along the river and stop everyone who crosses it,” reads the description before starting the game.
The fourth video game centers on the food policy of Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and aims to let through only those foods considered “healthy” according to the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again, the department’s motto) criteria. The player must reject colorants, additives, and ultra-processed foods, but also seed oils, such as sunflower oil. However, beef tallow will count as a healthy food.
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This is due to Kennedy’s defense of a “traditional” diet, based on the consumption of products like raw milk or animal fat, despite the cardiovascular and bacteriological risks associated with some of these foods. The protagonist responsible for discarding products is an African American boxer caricaturing Mike Tyson, due to the American athlete’s campaign with the Health Department during the 2026 Super Bowl to promote “real food” over processed food.
Finally, Trump supporters can also play to collect savings to fill the Trump Accounts, the children’s savings program promoted by the Trump Administration for American children born during his second term. The White House presented the initiative on its social media with the SEGA logo parodied as MAGA, and with the slogan Can’t stop winning, followed by references to building the wall or deporting migrants.
According to statements to the portal The Washington Examiner, the initiative seeks “to transfer Trump’s agenda to an interactive format” and aims to “tell the story of his achievements” in a way that connects with Americans. This is not the first time MAGA propaganda has sought to reach a younger audience, as several campaigns and products aimed at education including traditional American values have been promoted by Republican Party supporters.
The MAGA ideology also seeks to conquer the children’s audience
An example of this is the children’s guide The Kids Guide, a book series that includes titles such as The Kids Guide to Fighting Socialism, Debunking Lies About the United States or Fighting Indoctrination. These guides aimed at minors often include biased and partial information, and even promote conspiracy theories.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, many government members and media made alarming demands on the population, including closing churches and imposing the use of masks and vaccines. Many of these claims were misleading and some were completely false!” reads one of the editions.
This book collection, which according to its creator aims “to help Trump repair a broken educational system,” has a sponsorship system to distribute copies in school libraries and is advertised on Truth Social, the U.S. president’s social network.
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