President Donald Trump Monday posted an AI-generated deepfake video on Truth Social (and his X account) mocking Democratic congressional leaders Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The post came hours after a fruitless White House meeting between Trump, Schumer, Jeffries, and Republican leaders to avert a government shutdown over expiring funding, particularly health care subsidies. The video amplified GOP claims that Democrats are risking a shutdown to provide "free health care" to undocumented immigrants, a misrepresentation of Democratic proposals focused on Affordable Care Act extensions for lawfully present individuals.
WATCH: CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on President Trump’s AI video poking fun at Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries: “Is that appropriate in your view?“
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Sen. Roger Marshall: “The President plays with the press like a little boy with a flashlight and a dog. What he’s saying is this offer… pic.twitter.com/9IDXewCGuV
Content of the Video: The short, profane clip alters footage of Schumer speaking at a podium during post-meeting press remarks. Key fabricated elements include:
- A fake voiceover of Schumer saying: "Nobody likes Democrats anymore... because of all of our woke trans bullshit. We're just a bunch of woke pieces of shit."
- Schumer falsely claiming the party needs undocumented immigrants for "free health care" to "get them on our side so they can vote for us," implying Democrats rely on them to replace lost Black and Latino voters.
- Jeffries depicted silently beside him, wearing a sombrero and exaggerated handlebar mustache—a racist caricature evoking Mexican stereotypes.
The video lacks any caption from Trump and runs under 30 seconds, blending real audio snippets with AI manipulation for satirical effect.
Schumer called it proof Trump "can't negotiate—you can only throw tantrums." Jeffries labeled it "disgusting" and shared a real photo of Trump with Jeffrey Epstein captioned "This is real," decrying ethnic mockery. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) questioned how to negotiate after such insults.
Republicans: VP JD Vance echoed shutdown blame on Democrats. Some GOP insiders called it "topping the last shutdown" in audacity.
Republicans: VP JD Vance echoed shutdown blame on Democrats. Some GOP insiders called it "topping the last shutdown" in audacity.
The video has garnered millions of views, fueling partisan divides but no resolution to the shutdown crisis.