WASHINGTON — The White House website on Thursday introduced Arcade, a suite of five retro-style video games designed to highlight various aspects of President Donald Trump’s agenda.
The collection includes “Build the Wall,” a game reminiscent of Tetris where players must protect the border from incoming figures. Another title, “Rio Run,” mirrors the classic Snake game, with a Trump-like icon moving through the screen to collect representations of potential border crossers.
Focusing on domestic policy, “Supply Line” adapts the mechanics of the arcade game Tapper. Players manage an assembly line of food items, rejecting products that fail to meet the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” standards.
Two other games are set above Washington, D.C. In “Flappy Bill,” players guide an eagle carrying legislation across the National Mall. Meanwhile, “Trump Savings Tycoon” challenges users to collect airborne currency to fund “Trump Accounts,” a proposed savings plan offering $1,000 to every child born during Trump’s presidency.
The launch was promoted on social media through animations parodying loading screens from major gaming consoles like Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo. One promotional post featured a modified Sega logo that transforms into the acronym “MAGA,” referencing Trump’s signature campaign slogan.
This is bizarre. Using patriotic symbols to push a partisan agenda feels deeply inappropriate for the White House.
I didn’t expect the executive branch to dip into nostalgia marketing like this. Creative, but questionable timing.