Flying an eagle over the National Mall sounds like something an indie team might cook up as a Flappy Bird tribute—but it's actually a game called "Flappy Bill," officially launched on the White House's own arcade website. It's one of five titles in the White House's new online arcade, all modeled after retro classics but with themes pulled straight from the Trump administration's policy agenda.
"Trump Saving Tycoon" is a clicker-style game where players help kids save money into "Trump Accounts"; "Supply Line" tasks players with keeping unhealthy food out of school lunches; "Build The Wall," a Tetris-style game, has players stacking bricks to "protect the border and stop the incoming caravan"; and "Rio Run," modeled after Snake, has players patrolling a river to "catch every border crosser." The White House says a sixth game is on the way.
A White House official told The Washington Examiner that the project is "an innovative attempt by the administration to focus on telling the story of the President's many accomplishments in a way that resonates with all Americans," aimed at "highlighting our fun, winning culture in contrast to the dark, socialist vision of the Democrats."
But since the arcade launched, the response online has been overwhelmingly negative. X user Tim Isenman wrote on September 4: "The games on this cursed website are some of the most twisted things I've ever seen in my life. Everyone who made this should be ashamed of themselves, and whoever came up with and built this has to be sick." Another user, Volcaholic, wrote: "This is so evil! The White House launched an online arcade that gamifies deporting human beings—stacking bricks in 'Build The Wall' or catching migrants in 'Rio Run.'"
On Reddit, users have also questioned the tone-deaf execution of what was supposedly meant to showcase accomplishments from both Trump terms: "These games aren't fun and the design is sloppy—looks like it was made with a bad AI prompt. If that's the case, fine, but the worse possibility is that someone actually spent taxpayer money on this garbage propaganda." Other users argued the aesthetic is basically "4chan meme guy" self-deprecating humor dressed up in fascist packaging.
The White House also released a series of promotional videos mimicking the branding of Xbox, Sega, Pac-Man, and Nintendo's GameCube, with the tagline "Patriots, it's time to level up." Many players are now calling on these gaming companies to take legal action against the White House.
This isn't the first time the White House has stirred controversy by appropriating gaming IP. Earlier this year, The Pokémon Company responded after the White House shared a "Make America Great Affiliate" version of a Pokopia meme on social media, with a spokesperson stating: "Our mission is to unite the world, and it does not represent any political stance or agenda." Last year, the White House shared a viral video of ICE enforcement arrests set to the "Gotta Catch 'Em All" theme song, drawing similar pushback from The Pokémon Company. The White House also previously faced criticism for a promotional video that blended real footage from the Iran conflict with clips from Call of Duty, which was called "terrifying."
Facing the backlash, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the team has no plans to change course: "Through engaging posts and dank memes, we have successfully communicated the President's wildly popular policy agenda. There's a reason so many want to copy our style—because our message truly resonates. We will continue to meet people where they are with content they understand and connect with, whether that's Halo, Pokémon, Lord of the Rings, or any other medium."
