The White House has hijacked an iconic children’s cartoon in its latest attempt to use pop culture to promote ICE on social media.
The White House account has co-opted everything from Spider-Man to South Park in its to attempt to normalize brutal ICE raids.
On Monday, the Trump administration dived into 90s nostalgia in its latest effort, this one based on animated educational television series The Magic School Bus. The show aired on PBS from 1994 to 1997, before a Netflix reboot in 2017.
Based on the best-selling book series, The Magic School Bus follows Ms. Frizzle and her class as they set off in a supernatural vehicle and learn about the world around them. Comedian and actress Lily Tomlin voiced Frizzle in the original series, while Kate McKinnon voices Frizzle’s younger sister, Fiona, in the Netflix reboot.
Using imagery from the Netflix reboot, the White House’s post renamed the vehicle “The Magic Deportation Bus,” with Ms. Frizzle and her chameleon, Liz, in the front and five people cuffed in the rear, with the circular windows removed to make them more visible.
The doctored post was linked to a Fox News article, with the headline “ICE quietly arrests jaw dropping number of illegal immigrants in massive D.C. area operation.” The story referred to “Operation Safe Community — Washington, D.C.,” which ICE sources told Fox News saw officers arresting 1,328 immigrants in the first 14 days of August.
The White House’s social media caption read, “Please let this be a normal field trip…” referencing a line the character Arnold said in almost every episode as the bus started on a new journey.
Social media reacted quickly to the White House Trump-ifying the beloved cartoon.
“MAGA ruins everything,” the PatriotTakes account posted.
In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said, “Take a ride on the Magic School Bus to your home country!”
The Daily Beast has contacted Netflix, Scholastic and PBS for comment.
The Magic School Bus isn’t the only children’s favorite to be targeted by the Trump administration.
In November last year, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted a twisted parody that turned Franklin the Turtle, a character loved by children for decades, into an armed killer.
On his social media, Hegseth shared a mock-up of a book titled “Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists,” which shows the usually gentle turtle standing on the edge of a helicopter, firing a missile at a boat.
The publisher behind the children’s franchise hit back with a post on X.
“Franklin the Turtle is a beloved Canadian icon who has inspired generations of children and stands for kindness, empathy, and inclusivity,” Kids Can Press wrote. “We strongly condemn any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin’s name or image which directly contradicts these values.”
The White House is facing increasing pushback in its posts.
A-list musicians including Taylor Swift have had their songs used in videos to soundtrack Trump administration posts, only for the music to be muted after copyright appeals.
In July, Katy Perry was “deeply appalled and angry” that her 2010 hit “Firework” had been used for a White House montage of military strike clips. The post later removed her song.
Ariana Grande’s song “bye” was used to soundtrack footage of people being handcuffed during ICE raids in a video posted to TikTok in June by the White House.
“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense,” Grande responded in a now-deleted comment, reported Reuters and TMZ. “F— ICE,” she added. The music was also removed from the post.
