Voice actor Steve Downes, best known as the voice behind Halo's Master Chief, denounced a White House social media video that contained a clip of his character and glorified the United States and Israel's continued military campaign in Iran.
The video, shared by the White House X account, shows real-life war footage with snippets of popular television shows and films interspersed. Included in the montage of pop culture media is the ending of Halo 2: Anniversary, with Downes's Master Chief uttering: "Finishing this fight," immediately followed by footage from an airstrike. The post is captioned: "JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY."
Downes, in his own X post, condemned the video and its message, stating that his work was used without permission. "It has come to my attention that there is at least one propaganda video circulating that was either produced or at the very least endorsed by the White House that uses images of Master Chief and uses my voice to support the war in Iran," the statement reads. "Let me make this crystal clear: I did not participate in nor was I consulted, nor do I endorse the use of my voice in this video, or the message it conveys."
Concluding the statement with a strong message, Downes states: "I demand that the producers of this disgusting and juvenile war **** remove my voice immediately."
This is far from the first time that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has invoked imagery from the Halo franchise to promote its political agenda. In October, the White House posted a meme with an AI-generated image depicting Trump as the Master Chief. The Department of Homeland Security also advertised recruitment efforts for ICE with another Halo meme comparing immigrants to Halo's Flood. Microsoft has offered no public comment on the White House's posts.
Also used in the White House video is a rendition of the Mortal Kombat theme music. The video also features footage of Tom Cruise as Maverick from Top Gun, Keanu Reeves as John Wick, and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Amid the military conflict in the Middle East, the White House has also used footage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in a video making light of the destruction in Iran. The White House also received public backlash and an official statement from The Pokemon Company for referencing Pokopia in a meme posted last week.
Per The New York Times (via IGN), Trump administration spokesperson Abigail Jackson attempted to justify the White House's approach to social media back in October 2025, stating: "Through engaging posts and banger memes, we are successfully communicating the president's extremely popular agenda."
As noted by USA Today, the non-governmental humanitarian organization Iranian Red Crescent Society reports that the death toll from the U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran exceeded 1,300.
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The video, shared by the White House X account, shows real-life war footage with snippets of popular television shows and films interspersed. Included in the montage of pop culture media is the ending of Halo 2: Anniversary, with Downes's Master Chief uttering: "Finishing this fight," immediately followed by footage from an airstrike. The post is captioned: "JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY."
Downes, in his own X post, condemned the video and its message, stating that his work was used without permission. "It has come to my attention that there is at least one propaganda video circulating that was either produced or at the very least endorsed by the White House that uses images of Master Chief and uses my voice to support the war in Iran," the statement reads. "Let me make this crystal clear: I did not participate in nor was I consulted, nor do I endorse the use of my voice in this video, or the message it conveys."
Concluding the statement with a strong message, Downes states: "I demand that the producers of this disgusting and juvenile war **** remove my voice immediately."
This is far from the first time that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has invoked imagery from the Halo franchise to promote its political agenda. In October, the White House posted a meme with an AI-generated image depicting Trump as the Master Chief. The Department of Homeland Security also advertised recruitment efforts for ICE with another Halo meme comparing immigrants to Halo's Flood. Microsoft has offered no public comment on the White House's posts.
Also used in the White House video is a rendition of the Mortal Kombat theme music. The video also features footage of Tom Cruise as Maverick from Top Gun, Keanu Reeves as John Wick, and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Amid the military conflict in the Middle East, the White House has also used footage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in a video making light of the destruction in Iran. The White House also received public backlash and an official statement from The Pokemon Company for referencing Pokopia in a meme posted last week.
Per The New York Times (via IGN), Trump administration spokesperson Abigail Jackson attempted to justify the White House's approach to social media back in October 2025, stating: "Through engaging posts and banger memes, we are successfully communicating the president's extremely popular agenda."
As noted by USA Today, the non-governmental humanitarian organization Iranian Red Crescent Society reports that the death toll from the U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran exceeded 1,300.
Source