'Embarrassment': White House scorched over 'Orwellian word game' to rebrand ICE

On Monday, the Trump White House appeared to float a trial balloon to rebrand U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, changing the acronym so that instead of "ICE," it would be "NICE."

"ICE -> NICE AGENTS. 'National Immigration and Customs Enforcement.' DO IT!" said the official White House X account, posting an AI-generated image of an agent wearing "NICE" gear bent down to comfort a child, accompanied by the words "NICE AGENTS — DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY."

If the administration had been hoping for a surge of MAGA support for the idea, it was drowned out by mockery and outrage from everyone else.

"Dear @WhiteHouse: Where’s the agent’s mask?" asked Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). "And is the agent comforting a kid that was just separated from his parents?"

"Orwellian word games won’t make tearing our society apart and violating our rights any nicer," wrote David J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.

"These people are just such an embarrassment to the United States of America," wrote former Barack Obama communications strategist T.J. Adams-Falconer.

"This looks like a repurposed Hitler Youth one sheet," wrote former congressional candidate Robert Jon Anderson.

"Nazi Inbred Cuck Edgelords," wrote Twitch streamer "ConnorEatsPants."