'Roses are red, violets are blue:' White House's Valentine's Day post receives flak from netizens

As US President Donald Trump continues to push his aggressive anti-immigration rhetoric, the White House shared a controversial post on Valentine’s Day, receiving major backlash from the netizens. The post was shared on its Instagram handle along with the simple message, “Happy Valentine’s Day” (and a red heart emoji).

The White House’s Valentine’s Day meme featured the faces of the president and the Trump administration’s border czar Tom Homan. The meme was using the format of the ubiquitous “Roses are red, violets are blue” rhyme. “Roses are Red, violets are blue, come here illegally, and we’ll deport you,” the meme caption read.

In an effort to curb illegal migration at the US border, Trump has deployed ICE and deputised agents from several other federal agencies to carry out raids targeting undocumented people at the border. They maintained that they prioritise “the worst of the worst” across the country. According to The New York Post, in the first 18 days of the effort, the federal department has made an astounding 11,000 at-large arrests — which is already a third of the total busts the agency made last year under former President Joe Biden.

The backlash that followed

The controversial post from the White House received major backlash online with many calling it insensitive. “This is not normal. Don’t let them make you think it is. Resist,” “pretty insensitive to say, especially on a day meant to be about love,” “How embarrassing” and “This is disgusting, classless, and unprofessional,” said some of the comments on the post.

However, some voiced their approval of Trump’s stance on immigration. “I’m so happy. I love this,” one Trump supporter commented. “There are consequences when you break the law. This is 100% NORMAL,” wrote another supporter.

Earlier, the Border Patrol police said that their agents are catching about 359 illegal migrants per day across the entire southern border — a more than 90 per cent drop from February 2024. At this rate, the United States is on track to see the lowest monthly border crossings in at least 25 years, “Already in the last few weeks a message is being sent out that the border isn’t going to be trampled over anymore, that national security isn’t a joke to us,” a Border Patrol source told New York Post.