Steven Cheung, the communications director at the White House, did something unexpected by praising a liberal media outlet, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC).
However, Cheung’s compliments were actually part of a trolling strategy, as he posted a segment from “Chris Jansing Reports” discussing the administration’s promotion of the war with Iran using videos that combine real-world destruction with violence from video games and movies.
During the segment, Jansing played a clip that juxtaposed footage of Iran being attacked with Nintendo Wii characters using sports equipment to hit targets.
Despite some backlash from Democrats, a Washington Post poll suggested that approval for the strikes has increased, but an NPR/PBS/Marist poll shows that a majority of respondents oppose Trump’s handling of the war.
Former Bush advisor Mark McKinnon pointed out the desensitizing effect of using video games as parallels for wars, saying it can make people view them as just like a video game.
Cheung thanked MS NOW for airing the videos and claimed they are helping spread the administration’s message to a liberal audience.
Despite this, not everyone is convinced, as network star Lawrence O’Donnell called the videos the “stupidest propaganda videos in the history of propaganda anywhere in the world,” and others, like Ben Stiller and Jake Tapper, have criticized the administration’s tactics.

