On November 13, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk, one of his top donors, would co-lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, humorously abbreviated as DOGE. This name is a nod to the Doge meme, which features a Shiba Inu dog, Kabosu, and became a viral sensation in 2013. The meme inspired the creation of Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency initially designed as a joke.
The DOGE department is not an official government body, as it lacks congressional approval but will serve as an advisory commission for Trump. Musk’s involvement in DOGE seems to be a direct result of a meme he made on X (formerly Twitter) in August, which gained traction and led to his appointment.
Musk has long been a supporter of the Doge meme and its associated cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, even backing initiatives like the “DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon,” funded by Dogecoin. On the day Trump made the announcement, the price of Dogecoin surged by nearly 20%, illustrating the ongoing cultural impact of the meme.
This move fits into a broader pattern of political meme use by Trump and his supporters, reminiscent of the alt-right’s embrace of the Pepe the Frog meme. Just as Pepe evolved from a simple comic character to a controversial symbol, Doge could similarly be co-opted into political symbolism under Musk’s leadership, further entwining pop culture and politics.
While it’s unclear how Musk’s appointment will play out in the long term, it marks a notable moment in the intersection of memes, cryptocurrency, and politics, with Musk and Trump pushing the boundaries of how humor and internet culture can shape public life.
