Trump has been rightfully called the Twitter president in the past, and a crucial part of that legacy is the skilled exploitation of this information environment. His administration’s chief output is online shitposting. It’s not an actual form of governance, nor is it a kind of policy, but it is performative speech that’s supposed to signify action and, in the case of the Venezuela raid, strength. The resources of the most powerful military in the world are being marshaled in service of making memes declaring, “THIS IS OUR HEMISPHERE.” All because the country’s leaders think it’s good theater, and in a postliterate political era, the spectacle is propulsive.Â
This Charlie Warzel bit is so spot on.











