Trump Officials Go Wild on TikTok With Nicki Minaj, Glowing Eyes and Explicit Rap Lyrics

Trump administration officials have launched a wave of TikTok campaigns featuring everything from rap music and glowing eyes to raccoons and bawdy jokes, after the Justice Department deemed the app safe for federal employees to use.

The campaigns appear designed to reach younger Americans who use TikTok, with Cabinet members becoming prominent figures in several videos. Some posts have attracted praise for making government content more engaging, while others have drawn criticism over their tone and focus.

Other departments have used viral trends, popular songs and internet personalities to promote government messages, while late-night hosts have also poked fun at the middle-aged Cabinet members taking part.

Cabinet Officials Embrace TikTok Trends

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the administration 'is transforming how Americans interact with their government by publishing engaging social media content and meeting people where they are, including on TikTok.'

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, for example, appears doing push-ups with co-workers before the video cuts to him at other events and practising his golf swing with his legs strapped down. The VA video, titled 'SECVA reporting for duty', has more than 1,000 likes.

The Department of the Interior used Boyz II Men's 'I'll Make Love to You' alongside a video of a bison rolling in grass to warn park visitors about 'hot and bothered' bison during breeding season.

The Small Business Administration featured 'Jimothy', a raccoon believed to have a spinal condition that has gone viral online, to promote shopping locally. The video received fewer than 100 likes. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler attracted more attention after being roasted for walking jerkily through agency hallways with an empty binder.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined a TikTok trend using Nicki Minaj's 'Beez in the Trap'. The video shows him standing back-to-back with Minaj, a supporter of President Donald Trump, while she sings lyrics containing repeated profanity. The post has nearly 70,000 likes.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears in another video with lightning shooting from his glowing eyes. The sequence then shows Rocky Balboa, Muhammad Ali, gymnasts, bodybuilders and Kennedy doing pull-ups under the title 'America after becoming healthy again.'

Some videos have focused directly on agency priorities. The Department of Transportation has posted nearly 40 videos since the campaign began, including one aimed at recruiting air traffic controllers from the gaming community. The video has 4,600 likes and focuses on increasing staffing at air traffic control towers.

Collins Video Draws VA Criticism

Collins' VA video has faced criticism over both its focus on the secretary and its use of explicit lyrics from the Ying Yang Twins' 2003 song 'Salt Shaker'. The video includes lyrics such as 'Roll that a** round and round like a motherf**king wheel' and 'Shake that sh*t, this ain't no motherf**king drill!'

Three VA sources told CNN the response inside the agency has not been entirely positive, with one high-level source saying, 'We're embarrassed.' The sources asked to remain anonymous because they feared retaliation.

Douglas Massey, a longtime attorney with the VA's Board of Veterans' Appeals and president of the local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents about 320,000 VA workers, emailed Collins and three senior aides criticising the video.

Massey wrote that it 'appears to represent a shift away from Veteran-centered communications and toward promoting the public profile of the Secretary.' He said VA communications should help veterans access healthcare, benefits and services rather than focus on Collins.

The union reposted the video on YouTube, calling it his 'sizzle reel' and adding: 'The VA's mission is to serve veterans. Not build personal brands.'

Massey and a senior VA source said the department had previously focused its social media on healthcare and benefits. They said posts had recently focused more on Collins, while content about suicide prevention and veterans' mental health had been drastically reduced.

Massey also questioned the use of explicit sexual lyrics in an official VA video, writing: 'Frankly, as a conservative Southern Baptist pastor, I was surprised that an official VA video was paired with a song containing explicit sexual content.'

VA press secretary Quinn Slaven defended the video, saying it showed Collins 'performing two of the most important aspects of his job, listening to the concerns of Veterans and VA employees.'

Slaven also said VA's use of TikTok and other emerging media had helped recruit more than 225,000 new VA healthcare enrollees in 2026 alone. Slaven denied that VA had reduced its social media outreach on suicide prevention and mental health.

Kelly defended Collins, calling the union's criticism 'a ridiculously out-of-touch comment by an organization that must be decades behind the times.'

Trump has claimed he is 'number one' on TikTok 'by far', although Social Blade data cited in the report shows he is not among the platform's leading accounts by followers or likes.

The Justice Department and Office of Management and Budget worked to rescind a ban on TikTok being downloaded on government devices after the US version of the app was sold to a US-approved owner.