The Trump White House launched a website on September 3 featuring five arcade-style mini-games that promote its immigration enforcement and other policy initiatives [1, 2, 3, 4].
One game, Rio Run, adapts the classic Snake game with US border czar Tom Homan chasing and deporting pixelated migrants along the Rio Grande [1, 2, 3, 4]. Another, Build the Wall, is a Tetris-style challenge where players stack blocks to construct a border wall and "protect the border from the coming horde" [1, 2, 3, 4].
Trump Savings Tycoon involves catching cash and cryptocurrency to fund "Trump accounts" for children born between 2025 and 2028. Each account would receive a $1,000 deposit, according to the game description [1, 2, 3, 4]. Additional games include Supply Line, which tasks players with removing unhealthy food from school lunch lines as part of the "Make America Healthy Again" campaign, and Flappy Bill, where a bald eagle navigates through legislative obstacles [3, 4].
The White House also promoted the games on social media, releasing videos parodying console start-up animations and replacing Sega’s logo with "MAGA" [1, 2, 3, 4].
Rights groups and some public figures sharply criticized the games. Amerika Garcia Grewal, co-director of the Frontera Federation, said: "Makes me sick. They’ve been playing games with people’s lives for years, now they’ve made a video game of what they’re doing. There’s no attention paid to the quality of life for human beings, both those in their game or those in real life. The game designers have lost touch with what it means to be human and care for others" [1].
The games have sparked controversy beyond content, with calls for the White House to remove unauthorized use of intellectual property including music and likenesses featured in the games [3].
The arcade games are part of the Trump administration’s campaign to highlight its accomplishments and draw a contrast with Democratic policies [1].
