VP Vance Defends Trump's Controversial AI-Generated Videos Amid Government Shutdown

Vance Laughs Off Deepfake Video of Hakeem Jeffries: 'I Think It's Funny'

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday laughed off an A.I.-generated video that President Trump shared on social media, saying the president was "joking" when he posted a meme of Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, with a fake mustache and a sombrero. Mr. Jeffries has said the video was racist and bigoted. Asked for his response to that, Mr. Vance said, "I don't even know what that means." Speaking at a White House press briefing, Mr. Vance characterized the post as making light of lawmakers' policy differences. The video, which was posted on Monday and falsely accuses Democrats of trying to give free health care to undocumented immigrants, depicts Mr. Jeffries, who is Black, as Mexican, with mariachi music playing in the background. "Oh, I think it's funny," Mr. Vance said. "The president's joking, and we're having a good time." "You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats' positions, and even poking some fun at the absurdity of the Democrats themselves," Mr. Vance added. He asserted that Americans understood that Mr. Jeffries did not actually come to the White House wearing a sombrero and a "black curly animation mustache." "We're all trying to do a very important job for the American people," Mr. Vance said. "The president of the United States likes to have a little bit of fun when he's doing it. And I think that's OK." Our Coverage of Congress Here's the latest news and analysis from Capitol Hill. Shutdown Enters First Full Day With No Hint Either Side Will Give How the Shutdown Is Affecting Federal Services and Workers How the Senate Voted on the Failed Effort to Prevent a Government Shutdown Medicaid Work Requirements Don't Boost Employment, Study Shows Greene, Straying From Trump, Reflects an Emerging MAGA Split Jeanne Shaheen Wants to Make Foreign Policy Bipartisan Again Uber's Festering Sexual Assault Problem House Committee Opens Inquiry Into Uber Over Sexual Abuse The day after Mr. Trump posted the video, Mr. Jeffries condemned it as racist and challenged Mr. Trump to insult him in person the next time the leaders met face to face. "Mr. President, the next time you have something to say about me, don't cop out through a racist and fake A.I. video," Mr. Jeffries said on Tuesday during remarks at the Capitol. "When I'm back in the Oval Office, say it to my face." The White House tweeted the clip of his remarks, with the comment "Oh no! Hakeem is BIG MAD!" and laughing emojis. Mr. Trump, who has often hurled racist attacks against his political opponents, has taunted Mr. Jeffries and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, as they negotiated to avert a government shutdown. He posted several photos of them in his office with a red "Trump 2028" hat on his desk. On Tuesday evening, as it became clear the government was barreling toward a shutdown, Mr. Trump posted another video of Mr. Jeffries with a fake mustache and sombrero. That video featured a television interview of Mr. Jeffries during which he condemned the original meme as "disgusting." As Mr. Jeffries went on to assert that "bigotry will get you nowhere," an A.I.-generated mariachi band, all of whose members had Mr. Trump's face, appeared and played music over his words. Mr. Vance joked that there was one way to make the memes stop. "I mean, I'll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now, I make this solemn promise to you that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop," Mr. Vance said. "And I've talked to the president of the United States about that."

Vance laughs off deepfake video of Hakeem Jeffries: 'I think it's funny'

WASHINGTON -- Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday laughed off an AI-generated video that President Donald Trump shared on social media, saying the president was "joking" when he posted a meme of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, with a fake mustache and a sombrero. Jeffries has said the video was racist and bigoted. Asked for his response to that, Vance said, "I don't even know what that means." Speaking at a White House press briefing, Vance characterized the post as making light of lawmakers' policy differences. The video, which was posted Monday and falsely accuses Democrats of trying to give free health care to immigrants who lack legal status, depicts Jeffries, who is Black, as Mexican, with mariachi music playing in the background. "Oh, I think it's funny," Vance said. "The president's joking, and we're having a good time." "You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats' positions, and even poking some fun at the absurdity of the Democrats themselves," Vance added. He asserted that Americans understood that Jeffries did not actually come to the White House wearing a sombrero and a "black curly animation mustache." "We're all trying to do a very important job for the American people," Vance said. "The president of the United States likes to have a little bit of fun when he's doing it. And I think that's OK." The day after Trump posted the video, Jeffries condemned it as racist and challenged Trump to insult him in person the next time the leaders met face to face. "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 Tuesday during remarks at the Capitol. "When I'm back in the Oval Office, say it to my face." The White House tweeted the clip of his remarks, with the comment "Oh no! Hakeem is BIG MAD!" and laughing emoji. Trump, who has often hurled racist attacks against his political opponents, has taunted Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, as they negotiated to avert a government shutdown. He posted several photos of them in his office with a red "Trump 2028" hat on his desk. On Tuesday evening, as it became clear the government was barreling toward a shutdown, Trump posted another video of Jeffries with a fake mustache and sombrero. That video featured a television interview of Jeffries during which he condemned the original meme as "disgusting." As Jeffries went on to assert that "bigotry will get you nowhere," an AI-generated mariachi band, all of whose members had Trump's face, appeared and played music over his words. Vance joked that there was one way to make the memes stop. "I mean, I'll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now, I make this solemn promise to you that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop," Vance said. "And I've talked to the president of the United States about that."

Vance Explains Trump's Racist Shutdown Posts Are 'Funny'

During previous government shutdowns, both Democratic and Republican leaders have tried to demonstrate that they are taking the situation very seriously. Even if leaders aren't genuinely concerned about the furloughed federal employees and the stalled work of Washington, they at least want to ensure the other side takes the blame. President Trump is trying a somewhat different approach: repeatedly posting racist AI-generated videos featuring Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. Trump posted the first video on Monday night, hours after meeting with the Democrats to negotiate a way to avoid the impending shutdown. In the video, Fake Jeffries wears a sombrero and a giant mustache. Meanwhile, Fake Schumer says over mariachi music: There's no way to sugarcoat it -- nobody likes Democrats anymore. We have no voters left because of our woke, trans bullshit. Not even Black people want to vote for us anymore; even Latinos hate us. So we need new votes. And if we give all these illegal aliens free health care, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us. They can't even speak English, so they won't realize we're just a bunch of woke pieces of shit; you know, at least for a while, until they learn English and realize they hate us too. For those not fluent in false and idiotic MAGA memes, the Mexican theme is meant to highlight their bogus claim that Democrats are demanding free health care for "illegal aliens." While Trump's Truth Social feed is always filled with nasty insults and AI slop, this wasn't something he just casually reposted. He clearly wanted everyone to see it, as he also shared the video on X. Jeffries called the post "disgusting" in an appearance on MSNBC, adding, "We're going to continue to make clear bigotry will get you nowhere." The following day, cameras caught Democratic representative Madeleine Dean confronting House Speaker Mike Johnson about the video, begging him to speak out against it. The strongest condemnation the Speaker could muster was telling her, "I think it wasn't my style." If Johnson said anything privately to Trump, which seems doubtful, he didn't listen. A little over an hour before the shutdown went into effect at midnight on Wednesday, Trump shared a second racist deepfake video. It showed the clip of Jeffries condemning the first video on MSNBC but added in a sombrero, mustache, and all-Trump mariachi band. Trump also posted some photos from his negotiations with Democratic leaders in the Oval Office, which prominently featured "Trump 2028" hats. Jeffries confirmed on CNN that the hats weren't an AI invention: They actually "just randomly appeared in the middle of the meeting on the desk." He said he asked the vice-president if he had an issue with Trump suggesting he'll seek an unconstitutional third term. "I just looked at the hat, looked at J.D. Vance, who was seated to my left, and said, 'Don't you got a problem with this?' and he said, 'No comment,'" Jeffries said. "And that was the end of it." So it seems like Trump is more interested in trolling Democrats than negotiating with them -- almost like he wants this shutdown to drag on for some reason. But surely other administration officials are upset by Trump's offensive and unserious negotiation tactics? Nah! When asked about Trump's trolling social-media posts on Wednesday afternoon, Vance suggested we all need to lighten up. "Oh, I think it's funny!" the vice-president said. "The president is joking, and we're having a good time. You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats' positions and even poking some fun at the absurdities of the Democrats themselves." Vance added, "I'll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now: I make this solemn promise to you that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop." So if you aren't "having a good time" with this shutdown, that's really on you. Have you tried experiencing it as an extremely powerful white guy who doesn't have to worry about losing a few paychecks?