Honestly, satire used to be easier. You’d take a politician, find a small character flaw, and blow it up until it looked ridiculous. But then came the era of The Onion Donald Trump coverage, and the writers basically found themselves in a decade-long arms race with a guy who refused to be out-parodied.
How do you mock someone who already acts like a caricature?
That’s been the million-dollar question for the writers over at "America’s Finest News Source" since about 2015. They’ve had to pivot from simple jokes to a kind of surrealist high-art just to keep up. It’s not just about making fun of a haircut anymore. It’s about the absolute collapse of the "satire gap"—that thin line between a fake headline and a real push notification.
The Day the Ice Cream Melted
Back on election night in 2016, the staff at The Onion were prepared for a normal night. They had an ice cream cake ready. Mike Gillis, the head writer, later mentioned that as the results started rolling in, nobody touched that cake. It just sat there, melting into a puddle, becoming a weirdly poetic metaphor for the traditional political landscape they were used to mocking.
The problem they hit was immediate. Trump gleefully admitted to things that satire usually tries to "expose." If a satirist says, "This politician is a corrupt businessman," and the politician replies, "Yeah, and I’m great at it," the joke dies.
Why the Old Rules Broke
- Hyperbole failed: You can’t exaggerate someone who already speaks in superlatives.
- Hypocrisy didn't matter: Usually, satire points out the gap between what someone says and does. When the target doesn't care about the gap, the sting is gone.
- Reality caught up: Headlines like "Trump Directs Solar Eclipse" almost became real news when he actually looked at one without glasses.
When The Onion Trump Pieces Went Surreal
To survive, the site had to stop doing "Trump did a silly thing" stories. Instead, they started targeting the people around him—the ones desperately trying to maintain an air of normalcy. They went after Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump because those figures still cared about their public image. Puncturing a manufactured image is where satire lives.
They also leaned into the dark and the absurd. One of the most famous (and grimmest) headlines wasn't even about him directly, but about the era he defined: "‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens." While that’s used for shootings, it captures the repetitive, banging-your-head-against-the-wall feeling that defined the political discourse of the late 2010s and early 2020s.
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The Famous "Classified" Documents
In 2017, they "obtained" a trove of classified documents. They weren't real, obviously. They were things like hand-drawn maps and weirdly aggressive memos. It was a way of mocking the chaos of the West Wing without just repeating the daily news cycle.
They had to create a "fake world" that was slightly more insane than the real one. That’s a tall order when the real one involves buying Greenland.
Global Tetrahedron and the Infowars Saga
Fast forward to late 2024 and early 2025. The Onion underwent a massive change. It was bought by Global Tetrahedron, a firm led by Jeff Lawson. This wasn't just a corporate move; it was a vibe shift.
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The most "The Onion" thing to ever happen was their attempt to buy Infowars at a bankruptcy auction. They wanted to turn Alex Jones’ conspiracy hub into a parody of itself. They actually won the bid initially, backed by the families of Sandy Hook victims.
A federal judge in Texas, Christopher Lopez, eventually threw a wrench in the gears. He halted the sale in December 2024, citing concerns about the auction process. It was a moment where the satirical site became a central player in a very real, very serious legal battle. Ben Collins, the CEO, made it clear: they weren't just joking. They were trying to dismantle a source of misinformation by using the tools of capitalism and comedy.
Satire in the Second Term (2025 and Beyond)
As we moved into 2025 and the second inauguration, the mandate shifted again. Collins told his staff, "If The Onion is anything, it’s against the man." It doesn't matter who the man is, but when the man is as loud as Trump, the satire has to be louder.
They’ve moved away from the "low-hanging fruit." You won't see as many jokes about his tan. You'll see more jokes about the institutional rot, the media's inability to cover him, and the general sense of "Are we really doing this again?"
The Strategy for 2026
- Focus on the Enablers: Mocking the cabinet picks who are clearly unqualified.
- The "Alternative Facts" Loop: Writing stories that are so true they feel fake.
- The Membership Model: Moving away from just ad revenue to a "Global Tetrahedron" membership, because being "America’s Finest News Source" isn't cheap when you're fighting lawsuits.
The motto of The Onion is Tu Stultus Es—"You are dumb." It’s an equal-opportunity insult. They’ve hammered Obama on drone strikes and Hillary on her Wall Street ties. But with Trump, the "dumbness" is the feature, not the bug. That makes the writers' jobs ten times harder.
What You Can Learn From This
If you’re looking at The Onion Donald Trump archives to understand the history of the last decade, you're actually getting a more honest look at the "vibe" of the country than most history books will give you.
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Satire acts as a pressure valve. When the news feels too heavy or too nonsensical to process, a headline that perfectly captures the stupidity of a situation helps people feel less alone in their confusion.
How to Engage with Modern Satire
- Check the Source: Before you share that "insane" news story, check if the URL is
theonion.com. You’d be surprised how many people still get "Ate the Onion" (realizing too late it’s fake). - Look for the "Why": Good satire isn't just a lie for a laugh. It’s making a point. Ask yourself: "What is this joke actually saying about the person or the system?"
- Support Independent Media: Whether it’s a subscription or just following their real social accounts, satirical outlets need a base to survive in an era where social media algorithms often punish "fake" content, even when it’s clearly labeled humor.
Basically, keep your sense of humor. It’s kinda the only thing left that works.
Next Steps for You:
If you want to see this in action, go to The Onion’s "Trump" tag and sort by "Oldest." Watch how the headlines evolved from "Businessman considers run" to the surreal, document-dump style of the 2020s. It’s a wild ride through a decade where reality and parody finally merged into one weird, messy blur.