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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) offered some advice to his “friend” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) about the racist AI videos President Donald Trump posted showing him in a sombrero.
Trump uploaded the controversial deep fake video featuring Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday just before the government entered a shutdown.
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In the falsified clip, which was set to the tone of mariachi music, Jeffries is depicted wearing a sombrero and a mustache. An AI version of Schumer standing next to Jeffries can be heard making disparaging remarks about immigrants, Latinos, Black people and trans people.
The fake audio of Schumer also ripped Democrats as “woke pieces of shit.”
Trump doubled down on taunting Jeffries by posting another AI video less than 24 hours later. The additional doctored clip kicks off with Jeffries criticizing Trump’s initial post during an interview.
The clip then transitions into altered footage of Jeffries again wearing a sombrero and mustache before a mariachi band with Trump’s face superimposed on each musician appears.
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In a press conference Thursday, Johnson referred to Trump’s social media antics as a “sideshow.”
Claiming that people have asked him why Jeffries was “all alarmed” about the memes, Johnson said, “These are games. These are sideshows. People are getting caught up in — in battles over social media memes.”
He continued, “This is not a game. We’ve got to keep the government open for the people. I don’t know why this is so complicated.”
Johnson went on to address Jeffries directly while publicly dishing out advice to him.
“And to my friend Hakeem, who I was asked about: Man, just ignore it,” he added.
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Johnson then pointed to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) who posted a video depicting Johnson as a yellow minion from the animated comedy film “Despicable Me.” He called Newsom’s dig “hilarious.”
“I mean, Gavin Newsom was trolling me last night. He painted me like a minion. He painted me yellow with big glasses and overalls. And I thought it was hilarious. You don’t respond to it … Don’t respond to it,” he said.
Johnson added: “Get to work, do the people’s business, and let’s get on with it.”
Jeffries addressed Trump’s trolling by delivering a direct message to him on the steps of the Capitol Tuesday.
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“The next time you have something to say about me, don’t cop out through a racist and fake AI video,” he said. “Say it to my face.”
Despite Trump’s bizarre post being met with widespread backlash, the White House said Wednesday that AI videos and memes portraying Democrat leaders in sombreros “will continue” until the United States government has reopened, according to Newsweek.
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White House officials didn’t immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance dismissed the outrage over the deep fake video of Jeffries, calling it “funny” and claiming Trump was “joking.”
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“The president’s joking! And we’re having a good time,” Vance told reporters Wednesday. “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.”