House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed President Donald Trump on Tuesday over a manipulated video Trump posted on Truth Social featuring Jeffries in a sombrero, calling the video “racist and fake.”
Jeffries stood alongside House Democrats outside the Capitol on Tuesday, hours before the government faced a shutdown, when he condemned the footage.
“Mr. President, the next time you have something to say about me, don’t cop out through a racist and fake AI video,” Jeffries said in response to the footage. “When I’m back in the Oval Office, say it to my face.”
Trump posted an AI deepfake of Jeffries in the garb, complete with a mustache, on Truth Social on Monday, hours after he and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with Republicans in the Oval Office to discuss a deal to keep the government open.
The two sides couldn’t reach an agreement, leading to the video, where Schumer is depicted saying, “If we give all these illegal aliens health care, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us.”
Democrats also ripped Trump for the video, saying it was unbecoming of the president as both parties worked to keep the government open.
“It’s childish behavior,” Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) said, according to Politico. “I wouldn’t tolerate my kids doing something like that, much less the president of the United States. Both sides are trying to work together and show goodwill. I don’t see how that helps at all.”
The White House has voiced a different sentiment, however.
“Hakeem Jeffries and the rest of the Democrats are rejecting a clean, simple funding extension — that they all supported just six months ago,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told TheWrap, “and are planning to shut down the government if they don’t get their nearly $1.5 trillion wish list of demands, including free health care for illegal aliens. Anyone who’s feigning outrage over a perfect meme should instead focus on the countless Americans who will suffer as a result of the Democrat shutdown.”
