"Mess Around and Die": White House Social Media Sparks Controversy with Profanity-Laced Warning... Trump's Black-and-White Photo Draws Attention

White House Social Media Posts Warning Message Containing Profanity

After the Donald Trump administration forcibly removed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, a post containing a warning message with profanity was uploaded to the official White House social media account, sparking controversy.

A warning message post uploaded on the official White House Instagram account. White House Instagram

On January 3 (local time), the White House posted an image of President Trump on its official Instagram account with the phrase "FAFO." FAFO stands for "Fuck Around Find Out," which can be interpreted as "This is no joke. Mess around and you’ll get hurt." It is considered highly unusual for such strong profanity to appear on an official U.S. government account.

However, FAFO is also a phrase that members of the Trump administration have used publicly on several occasions. On September 30 of last year, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated at an all-military leadership event held at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, "If you want peace, prepare for war," and added, "If our enemies foolishly challenge us, we will crush them with overwhelming violence and precision."

At the same event, President Trump mentioned that he had issued an executive order on September 5 of last year, instructing the Department of Defense to be referred to as the "War Department." At the time, President Trump declared, "In the years ahead, we will make the military stronger, tougher, faster, more fearsome, and more powerful than ever before," emphasizing, "The United States must defend itself as the most lethal and dominant military force in the world."

This aggressive military stance by President Trump immediately led to the situation in Venezuela. In the early hours of January 3 (local time), the United States launched a surprise military operation, bombing the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were then extradited to the United States.

Meanwhile, the photo used in the post sparked unexpected speculation on domestic online communities and social media. Some users commented that the background in the photo looked similar to Gimhae Airport, which President Trump had used during a previous visit to South Korea.