White House Melds Grand Theft Auto With Real War Footage To Stir Up Anger Online

Donald Trump’s White House once again blurred gaming with real-life war on Friday when the administration posted a video featuring clips from “Grand Theft Auto” and what appears to be real footage of strikes on Iranian targets.

The post — part of a trolling social media presence intended to get a rise out of political opponents — comes one day after a similar one spliced footage of the war with clips from “Call of Duty.” Both titles are first-person shooter video games that became popular with millennials.

The second Trump administration’s social media presence has been characterized by a rage-baiting strategy that frequently elicits angry and indignant responses from commentators who are shocked to see the White House maintain such an unprofessional image online.

While the Thursday video was posted with a simple caption, “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue,” the newer one came with three bullet points outlining the apparent goals of “OPERATION EPIC FURY” — the real-life name of President Trump’s military operation in Iran.

The post reads: “Destroy Iran’s missile arsenal. Destroy their navy. Ensure they NEVER get a nuclear weapon. Locked in.”

It makes use of a meme from “GTA: San Andreas” in which a man walks toward a dangerous scenario, saying, “Ah shit, here we go again.” The White House then cuts to unclassified military footage of bombings.

Once the target — a truck, a boat, a building — is struck, a “GTA”-style banner appears over the screen: “WASTED.”

The shameless flippancy attracted scores of critics: “Total disrespect.” “War is not a video game.” “This is disgusting.”

Since the U.S. began airstrikes on Iran last weekend, six American service members have been killed. Trump appears to accept that the death toll may grow, warning multiple times over the past week that Americans “will die” as he pursues a new war that he pledged never to start.

In the past, whenever the White House has been criticized for its childish devotion to “owning the libs” on social media, the administration has merely doubled down — copyright be damned.

There has been one notable exception: A Department of Homeland Security video montage of federal immigration officials detaining apparent immigrants set to the copyrighted Sabrina Carpenter song “Juno” was taken down late last year after the singer called it “evil.”