Topline
The Department of Homeland Security appeared to remove a video promoting the Trump administration’s deportation policy featuring a clip of comedian and podcast host Theo Von after he called on the agency to take it down the night before, saying his thoughts on the issue were “more nuanced than this video allows.”
DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, posted a video that featured a clip of Von saying “heard you got deported dude, bye,” before claiming the administration oversaw 1.6 million “self-deportations” and 400,000 deportations over the last 250 days.
In a post on X, Von asked DHS to send him a check and “please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos.”
“When it comes to immigration my thoughts and heart are alot more nuanced than this video allows,” Von wrote, distancing himself from the video, which ends with the message: “leave now.”
It is unclear why the clip was taken down on Wednesday, and DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
Von, who hosts the podcast “This Past Weekend,” was one of several podcasters to interview President Donald Trump before the 2024 election, including Joe Rogan and Adin Ross. “This Past Weekend” has 4.27 million subscribers on YouTube, and Trump's willingness to appear on podcasts is frequently credited for expanding the president’s support among younger men. Von, who does not identify with a particular political side, The New York Times reported in an April review of his podcast, has previously pushed back against the Trump administration since the president took office in January. In a June interview with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Von called the prospect of a war with Iran a “horrible idea.” Later in the same interview, Von said the possible war in Iran would lead to Americans feeling “disillusioned in our leaders,” adding “You start to feel like I don't know at one point neither one of these parties is helping us.” Von’s podcast also features interviews with figures across the political spectrum, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before he dropped out of the presidential race to endorse Trump.
DHS has frequently used pop culture references in posts promoting their aggressive deportation agenda, often sparking backlash. Earlier this week, the agency posted a video featuring the “Pokemon” anime theme song—a tune that features the chorus “gotta catch ‘em all” while showing a highlight reel of agents arresting migrants. In an August recruitment post for ICE, DHS referenced the animated comedy “South Park.” The long-running show in turn depicted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in multiple episodes, parodying her past story admitting to killing her family’s unruly hunting dog.