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This resistance may not be televised, though it may feature amphibious toes and protruding eyes.

Additionally, it could include a unicorn's horn or the plumage of a chicken.

As rallies against the administration carry on in US cities, demonstrators have embraced the vibe of a neighborhood dress-up party. They've offered salsa lessons, distributed snacks, and ridden unicycles, while police watch.

Combining humour and politics – a strategy experts refer to as "tactical frivolity" – isn't novel. Yet it has transformed into a hallmark of protests in the United States in recent years, used by various groups.

One particular emblem has risen to become particularly salient – the frog. It originated when a video of an encounter between a man in a frog suit and immigration enforcement agents in the city of Portland, spread online. From there, it proliferated to demonstrations nationwide.

"There is much at play with that little frog costume," states LM Bogad, a professor at University of California, Davis and an academic who specialises in creative activism.

From Pepe to the Streets of Portland

It's challenging to discuss protests and frogs without talking about Pepe, an illustrated figure embraced by far-right groups during an election cycle.

When the character gained popularity online, people used it to signal certain emotions. Later, it was deployed to show support for a candidate, including one notable meme endorsed by that figure himself, portraying Pepe with a signature suit and hair.

Images also circulated in certain internet forums in more extreme scenarios, as a hate group member. Users exchanged "unique frog images" and established digital currency using its likeness. Its famous line, "that feels good", was deployed a coded signal.

Yet its beginnings were not this divisive.

The artist behind it, the illustrator, has stated about his unhappiness for how the image has been used. Pepe was supposed to be simply a "chill frog-dude" in his series.

This character debuted in comic strips in the mid-2000s – non-political and notable for a quirky behavior. A film, which follows the creator's attempt to wrest back control of his work, he said the character was inspired by his time with friends and roommates.

Early in his career, the artist experimented with sharing his art to new websites, where other users began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. As its popularity grew into fringe areas of the internet, the creator attempted to distance himself from the frog, including ending its life in a final panel.

However, its legacy continued.

"It shows that creators cannot own symbols," explains the professor. "Their meaning can evolve and be reclaimed."

Until recently, the notoriety of Pepe resulted in amphibian imagery became a symbol for conservative politics. But that changed in early October, when a confrontation between an activist dressed in a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon spread rapidly online.

This incident followed a decision to send military personnel to the city, which was called "war-ravaged". Protesters began to gather in droves at a specific location, just outside of an immigration enforcement facility.

The situation was tense and an immigration officer sprayed a chemical agent at a protester, directing it into the opening of the costume.

The individual, the man in the costume, quipped, saying he had tasted "something milder". But the incident spread everywhere.

The costume was somewhat typical for Portland, renowned for its unconventional spirit and activist demonstrations that embrace the absurd – outdoor exercise, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and unique parades. Its creed is "Embrace the Strange."

The frog even played a role in subsequent court proceedings between the federal government and the city, which contended the deployment overstepped authority.

While the court ruled that month that the president was within its rights to deploy troops, a minority opinion disagreed, mentioning demonstrators' "propensity for using unusual attire when expressing opposition."

"It is easy to see the court's opinion, which accepts the description of Portland as a war zone, as merely absurd," she wrote. "Yet the outcome goes beyond absurdity."

The action was stopped legally subsequently, and troops are said to have left the area.

However, by that time, the frog had transformed into a powerful anti-administration symbol for progressive movements.

The inflatable suit appeared in many cities at anti-authoritarian protests that fall. Amphibian costumes were present – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in major US cities. They appeared in small towns and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

The inflatable suit was backordered on online retailers, and became more expensive.

Shaping the Optics

The link between both frogs together – is the dynamic between the silly, innocent image and a deeper political meaning. Experts call this "tactical frivolity."

This approach rests on what the professor calls the "irresistible image" – usually humorous, it's a "disarming and charming" performance that draws focus to a message without explicitly stating them. This is the goofy costume you wear, or the symbol you share.

Mr Bogad is an analyst in the subject and a veteran practitioner. He's written a text on the subject, and taught workshops around the world.

"You could go back to the Middle Ages – under oppressive regimes, they use absurdity to speak the truth a little bit and while maintaining a layer of protection."

The theory of such tactics is three-fold, Mr Bogad explains.

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