At 5:20 PM, the White House posted a 34-second video of Donald Trump inside a fake version of The Legend of Zelda and captioned it, “Hey! Listen!” They borrowed a game about an ordinary person finding the courage to stand up to a tyrant consumed by greed and power, and somehow decided Trump should be the hero. The irony is difficult to miss. But what stayed with me was the ending, which said the president was “working tirelessly.” I immediately thought of his own description of cabinet meetings as “boring as hell,” and his admission that he moves his hand “so that people will know I’m listening.” The cartoon president is tireless. The actual president says he cannot wait to leave. That is the image our government is selling us, wrapped in familiar music and characters generations of children grew up loving.
This is part of a pattern that now includes the White House Arcade and the earlier video of ICE agents set to Pokémon music. When companies consider challenging the use of their work, they are confronting an administration with power over contracts, trade policy, and regulation. Forbes described the “regulatory friction” that can create. Their silence does not mean approval. The Tetris Company did speak out, distancing itself from “Build the Wall” and saying it takes copyright infringement seriously. The game was just removed, although we do not know whether public or legal pressure caused it. Meanwhile, Trump used his Steel Across America speech to describe two firefighters lifting him and running with him near Ground Zero. The rescue story is not believable and unsupported by any evidence, and he later clarified that he was there after the collapse, not on the same day. A cartoon hero and another unverified account of his own place in a national tragedy. Both demand that we keep looking at him instead of asking what this government is doing to the country.
I keep thinking about what children are learning from all of this, and how different it was when I was a young adult raising my own family. Politics was something we watched. It was not supposed to consume every waking hour. The danger is that we become so exhausted that we accept this as normal and stop trying to change it. The midterms give us a concrete place to put that frustration. We need to reach the people who already oppose what is happening but have decided voting changes nothing, and persuade them to give it one more try. Large turnout cannot guarantee a smooth election, but giving up leaves the decision to everyone else. Our work is to turn attention into participation, and participation into enough votes to change who holds power.
See the full story in the video.
We are living through a pivotal moment for our country, and my goal is to reach as many people as possible with clear, factual information about what is happening. The more people who understand what is unfolding, the better our chances of pushing back against chaos, cruelty, and corruption ahead of the midterms.
Thank you for your continued support. Your paid subscriptions have enabled me to add a video editor and reach more people.
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I’m fighting to save our country (before it’s too late).
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather
This video is based on my written post, available HERE, and based on the events of 9-8-2026.
This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.
Sources:
President Trump Participates in a Steel Across America Event: YouTube Video
https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/08/politics/fact-check-trump-9-11-claims
