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Trump’s influencer administration is capitalizing on online fame
- By cigaretteman
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Total slimeballs, one and all:
A few weeks before he was named to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recorded a sponsored social media video for Boxbollen, an at-home boxing game featuring a head-strapped bouncy ball.
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“Boxbollen!” he screamed after repeatedly punching the little ball in a video posted on his TikTok account; the video has since been deleted. Covered in sweat, he praised the product, which retails for $29.99, as “the ideal stocking stuffer.”
It was an unusual appearance for a recently withdrawn presidential candidate, much less a soon-to-be-incoming Cabinet secretary. But Kennedy — who has won millions of followers with extreme claims about health, including that the coronavirus vaccine is a “crime against humanity” — is one of several members of the incoming administration trying to blend politics with their personal brands as viral online personalities.
The Boxbollen video highlights how some of the biggest names in President-elect Donald Trump’s orbit have capitalized on their social media fame in the run-up to his second White House term. By assembling a crew of advisers not from the ranks of career bureaucrats but from a hodgepodge of right-wing internet personalities and Fox News hosts, Trump has built America’s first influencer administration, potentially transforming how Washington reaches everyday Americans — and giving rise to new forms of conflict of interest.
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The picks — like Trump’s private-jet group photos — seem designed to drum up attention, and the president-elect has announced many of his Cabinet nominations on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns a controlling stake in through his company, Trump Media & Technology Group.
But they could also help market Trump’s political ideas to a national audience. Vivek Ramaswamy, the former pharmaceutical executive, said recently that Trump’s initiative to slash federal spending — known as the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE — will be chronicled on a weekly podcast, or “DOGEcast,” that will expose “what exactly that waste, fraud and abuse in government looks like.”
The focus on social media could also offer Trump allies a chance at personal financial benefit. Trump has pledged to top-load his administration with people such as Pete Hegseth, the former “Fox & Friends” weekend show co-host who routinely promotes his book “The War on Warriors” in social media videos.
Shortly before Trump named him as his pick for defense secretary, Hegseth said in a two-hour interview with Navy SEAL-turned-podcaster Shawn Ryan that he’d fire “any general, any admiral” who was involved in “woke s---” and replace them with “no-nonsense warfighters … who aren’t going to cater to the socially correct garbage.”
Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor Trump named to lead the agency that administers the Medicare and Medicaid programs, told his millions of TikTok and X followers last week that they could reduce Thanksgiving stress “with adaptogens like ashwagandha from a trusted source like iHerb,” an online supplement store that says Oz serves as its “global advisor.” (An iHerb spokesperson declined to disclose the “financial nature” of its relationship with Oz and said there has been “no change to his affiliation” with the company since Trump named him to the role.)
Even those no longer part of Trump’s potential Cabinet have gotten in on the action. In the days since Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to lead Trump’s Justice Department, the recently resigned congressman has started selling $500 personalized messages on the influencer-video marketplace Cameo. (On Black Friday, they were offered at a 60 percent discount.)
“What’s up, Deb … this is Matt Gaetz,” he said in a Thanksgiving-themed video while wearing a white “MAGA” hat. “We just can’t thank you enough for being a part of what we’re doing for the country. Because it requires patriots at every level. We have to have folks who are praying for us … who are praying for President Trump, who are sharing important content online.”
Jess Rauchberg, an assistant professor at Seton Hall University who studies social media, said Trump allies’ moves online offer an example of what some researchers call “influencer creep,” in which traditional public figures start adopting the rhythms of digital creators to promote or reinvent themselves. She expects more leaders of both parties will “blend the boundary between politician and content creator” because it will offer them a path to widespread trust and prominence.
“To be a politician, you’re going to need to play the game like an influencer,” she said. But the risk, she said, is “when we are only focused on that moment of laughter or of interacting with the meme,” it can “hide and obfuscate who they are as a political leader.”
Federal employees are barred from using their public office to endorse products, given the potential conflicts between their government work and for-profit interests. In the early days of the first Trump presidency, the White House “counseled” adviser Kellyanne Conway after she was criticized for promoting Trump’s daughter Ivanka’s fashion and jewelry line by telling Fox News viewers to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff.”
One Trump ally, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado), raised questions this past week when she briefly advertised her own $250 custom Cameo videos, despite House rules prohibiting representatives from being paid for appearances. Boebert’s account, which was listed under the “influencer” category, was removed Monday, two days after it appeared online. Her office did not respond to requests for comment.
A few weeks before he was named to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recorded a sponsored social media video for Boxbollen, an at-home boxing game featuring a head-strapped bouncy ball.
Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI.“Boxbollen!” he screamed after repeatedly punching the little ball in a video posted on his TikTok account; the video has since been deleted. Covered in sweat, he praised the product, which retails for $29.99, as “the ideal stocking stuffer.”
It was an unusual appearance for a recently withdrawn presidential candidate, much less a soon-to-be-incoming Cabinet secretary. But Kennedy — who has won millions of followers with extreme claims about health, including that the coronavirus vaccine is a “crime against humanity” — is one of several members of the incoming administration trying to blend politics with their personal brands as viral online personalities.
The Boxbollen video highlights how some of the biggest names in President-elect Donald Trump’s orbit have capitalized on their social media fame in the run-up to his second White House term. By assembling a crew of advisers not from the ranks of career bureaucrats but from a hodgepodge of right-wing internet personalities and Fox News hosts, Trump has built America’s first influencer administration, potentially transforming how Washington reaches everyday Americans — and giving rise to new forms of conflict of interest.
💻
Follow Technology
The picks — like Trump’s private-jet group photos — seem designed to drum up attention, and the president-elect has announced many of his Cabinet nominations on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns a controlling stake in through his company, Trump Media & Technology Group.
But they could also help market Trump’s political ideas to a national audience. Vivek Ramaswamy, the former pharmaceutical executive, said recently that Trump’s initiative to slash federal spending — known as the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE — will be chronicled on a weekly podcast, or “DOGEcast,” that will expose “what exactly that waste, fraud and abuse in government looks like.”
The focus on social media could also offer Trump allies a chance at personal financial benefit. Trump has pledged to top-load his administration with people such as Pete Hegseth, the former “Fox & Friends” weekend show co-host who routinely promotes his book “The War on Warriors” in social media videos.
Shortly before Trump named him as his pick for defense secretary, Hegseth said in a two-hour interview with Navy SEAL-turned-podcaster Shawn Ryan that he’d fire “any general, any admiral” who was involved in “woke s---” and replace them with “no-nonsense warfighters … who aren’t going to cater to the socially correct garbage.”
Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor Trump named to lead the agency that administers the Medicare and Medicaid programs, told his millions of TikTok and X followers last week that they could reduce Thanksgiving stress “with adaptogens like ashwagandha from a trusted source like iHerb,” an online supplement store that says Oz serves as its “global advisor.” (An iHerb spokesperson declined to disclose the “financial nature” of its relationship with Oz and said there has been “no change to his affiliation” with the company since Trump named him to the role.)
Even those no longer part of Trump’s potential Cabinet have gotten in on the action. In the days since Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to lead Trump’s Justice Department, the recently resigned congressman has started selling $500 personalized messages on the influencer-video marketplace Cameo. (On Black Friday, they were offered at a 60 percent discount.)
“What’s up, Deb … this is Matt Gaetz,” he said in a Thanksgiving-themed video while wearing a white “MAGA” hat. “We just can’t thank you enough for being a part of what we’re doing for the country. Because it requires patriots at every level. We have to have folks who are praying for us … who are praying for President Trump, who are sharing important content online.”
Jess Rauchberg, an assistant professor at Seton Hall University who studies social media, said Trump allies’ moves online offer an example of what some researchers call “influencer creep,” in which traditional public figures start adopting the rhythms of digital creators to promote or reinvent themselves. She expects more leaders of both parties will “blend the boundary between politician and content creator” because it will offer them a path to widespread trust and prominence.
“To be a politician, you’re going to need to play the game like an influencer,” she said. But the risk, she said, is “when we are only focused on that moment of laughter or of interacting with the meme,” it can “hide and obfuscate who they are as a political leader.”
Federal employees are barred from using their public office to endorse products, given the potential conflicts between their government work and for-profit interests. In the early days of the first Trump presidency, the White House “counseled” adviser Kellyanne Conway after she was criticized for promoting Trump’s daughter Ivanka’s fashion and jewelry line by telling Fox News viewers to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff.”
One Trump ally, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado), raised questions this past week when she briefly advertised her own $250 custom Cameo videos, despite House rules prohibiting representatives from being paid for appearances. Boebert’s account, which was listed under the “influencer” category, was removed Monday, two days after it appeared online. Her office did not respond to requests for comment.
