A social media spat escalated Tuesday between the satirical animated television show “South Park” and the Trump administration.
In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security used a South Park-style animation in a recruiting post, just days after South Park released a trailer for its upcoming episode featuring DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The post was made after a White House spokesperson said the show “hasn’t been relevant in 20 years’ after the first episode of the new season depicted President Donald Trump in unflattering ways.
South Park clapped back in a reply to DHS’s recruiting post.
“Wait, so we are relevant?” the post reads.
It added a vulgar hashtag: “#eatabagofd—-.”
DHS has tried to recruit more agents to meet Trump’s aggressive goal of 3,000 immigration arrests a day. The agency has created new benefits like a $50,000 recruting bonus and up to $60,000 of student loan forgiveness for new recruits. It has also published World War 2-style recruiting propaganda featuring American figures like Uncle Sam.
The South Park trailer also indicated that Trump’s immigration policy would be a theme in the new episode. The trailer features the character Mr. Mackey on a ride-along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The popular character Cartman appears as Charlie Kirk, who has vociferously defended Trump’s immigration policies.