The United States government has been shut down for nearly three days, but the Trump administration still seems at odds with itself over the most basic, fundamental question at play: Is it a good thing or a bad thing that this is happening?

The people who work inside the White House sound terribly torn.

On the one hand, President Trump has called the shutdown an “unprecedented opportunity” to hack away at pieces of the federal bureaucracy he does not like. Plus, he has figured out how to weaponize it against his political enemies. And even though thousands of people are facing layoffs and critical services are being cut, he is evidently pleased with the meme potential the shutdown has inspired. All week long, the president has been posting trollish, A.I.-generated content having to do with the situation.

Vice President JD Vance was asked on Wednesday about one such meme Mr. Trump had posted. “Oh, I think it’s funny,” Mr. Vance said. “The president’s joking and we’re having a good time.”

The vice president continued: “We’re all trying to do a very important job for the American people. The president of the United States likes to have a little bit of fun when he’s doing it.”

This spirit of shutdown fun was not consistent with the message delivered by the White House press secretary on Friday.