When Fascism Learns to Whisper: What Deportation ASMR Says About Trump's Second Term.
KORUSH L. CASILLAS
One month into his second term, Donald Trump has made his priorities clear: mass deportations, aggressive national security measures and internal power structure re-ordering. In just 30 days, 37,660 undocumented migrants have been deported, ICE arrests have surged by 627%, 17 federal agents have been dismissed, an executive order to end birthright citizenship looms and the White House press pool has been seized by the incumbent administration.
With (semi) calculated propaganda, Trump isn’t in the game of justifying his administration’s actions - he’s flaunting them. On the 18th of February, the President sanctioned the release of an official White House ASMR video that mockingly showcases the final stages of deportation. The video features the relaxing tapping of shackles clasping the faceless ‘illegals’; the gentle caressing of their boots being marched into a mass-loaded cargo-jet; and the crinkly brushing of the signature blue ICE jackets on the officers patting down the individuals whose faces are obfuscated.
This video was not made to induce tingly MAGA relaxation - though surely achieved somewhere in Ohio - it was propaganda. It is a candid attempt at reframing suffering as routine, normalised by structured, digital tingles. The video itself demonstrates a clear and eager willingness to troll the moral criticisms the administration has been receiving from democratic and worldly media, prioritising spectacle and cruelty over common sense. Despite opposition from every 6 in 10 adult Americans, Trump reversed policy that previously restricted migrant arrests in places of education, religious solace and during medical emergencies. With a ‘zero tolerance’ separation policy that has split up an estimated 5,500 families to date, the Trump administration is continuing to privilege the populistic MAGA demands his campaign was built on over moral decency. Using ASMR to flaunt deportation, shamelessly degrading migrants, is a clear demonstration of this.
Not only does the video trivialise domestic, bi-partisan discourse but it frames its actions as so obviously and laughably right that the need for decency is thrown out the window. There is a clear and tangible erosion of [different word than humanity] that has emerged within American politics; loud, bold and outrageous takes precedence over calculated, respectable and decent.
The concept of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is one that encompasses empathy, compassion, relaxation and care for others. Popping up in the late 2000s, the physiological phenomenon has since turned mainstream. ASMR videos accumulated over 90 billion views in 2022 alone. Videos vary; from therapeutic whispering and (non-sexual) roleplays to brain-tingling virtual head-massages, ‘Reiki healings’ and background ambience for mindful studying. At its core, ASMR is pure.
This is not the first time propaganda has been used to make extreme national security measures seem routine and salient to political culture. The USSR’s ‘Happy Worker’ films showed smiling factory employees, concealing the brutality of forced labor. The Nazi regime’s Theresienstadt documentary (1944) depicted Jewish prisoners happily engaging in cultural activities, masking the reality of their suffering. More recently, reality shows like Border Control have transformed immigration enforcement into entertainment - oppression as just another bureaucratic process. The White House ASMR video magnifies this blueprint: turning cruelty into spectacle reduces discourse to the spectacle itself rather than the moral lapse being displayed. To some extent, I fall victim to this line of conversation here.
Still, it is important to note that this is more than just propaganda - this is a calculated display of unchecked power. The Trump administration thrives on pushing the boundaries of political decency, knowing each new outrage will erode resistance further. Every act of deliberate cruelty - whether mass deportations, purging federal oversight, or humiliating foreign leaders - tests how far they can go. By trolling us with moral decadence, the Trump administration - and far right - is normalising its control over our intolerance.
This comes with a slew of other worrying developments. On January 25th 17 federal agency investigators were dismissed, in what has been referred to as the ‘Friday Night Coup’, raising concerns over executive overreach and institutional destabilisation. On January 29th, Executive Order 14160 was signed, ending the rights to citizenship at birth in the U.S. On February 19th, it was reported that Trump loyalty tests were being administered to U.S federal intelligence agency candidates. On February 25th, the Trump Administration took control of the White House Press Pool, rescinding powers held for almost a century by the White House Correspondents’ Association. This has raised concerns of a state-controlled media force shaping political coverage. On February 28th, the President and Vice-President humiliated Zelensky after engaging in favourable talks with Russian President Putin. Most recently, on March 4th, Trump threatened to withdraw funding from schools if they permitted ‘illegal protests’.
These acts are indicative of a democracy in decay, suffering at the hands of the powers of populistic rhetoric. They are escalating tactics of authoritarianism that mirror many of Lawrence Britt’s infamous 14 Characteristics of Fascism. Namely numbers 2, 6 and 7; the diminished regard for human rights, state-controlled media and an excessively growing focus on national security. Whether or not you accept the legitimacy of mass deportation, navigating politics with decency is a prerequisite of democracy that requires approaching people and discourse with respect and dignity.
For every day we become more capable of ignoring losses to humanity in politics, another day politics becomes less human. We become more detached and the depraved becomes more normal, transient to how leaders operate and navigate the confines of dos and don’ts. If Donald Trump can post a video facetiously tapping on the chains of undocumented migrants, the list of don’ts has clearly diminished. The erosion of humanity in politics has always paved the way for authoritarianism; not through sudden coups, but through the slow, subtle decay of moral decency. When cruelty becomes normal, democracy becomes fragile.
Using ASMR to dehumanise immigrants isn’t normal. The question is not whether mass deportation is justified but whether we are willing to let dehumanisation become points of entertaining, trivial conversation. Instead, our focus must be on practical, empathetic discussion that considers both domestic concern and the matter of human dignity.
Creator: Matt Rourke | Credit: AP