Jeffries slams Trump’s AI Video as 'racist and fake’; Schumer calls shutdown debate ‘tantrums'
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned an AI-generated video posted by President Trump that falsely depicted them making derogatory remarks about Democrats and immigrants.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday condemned an AI-generated video posted by President Donald Trump that depicted him wearing a sombrero alongside Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“Mr. President, the next time you have something to say about me, don’t cop out through a racist and fake AI video,” Jeffries told reporters on the Capitol steps. “When I’m back in the Oval Office, say it to my face.”
Jeffries appeared with dozens of House Democrats, less than 14 hours before a possible federal government shutdown.
Schumer: “Tantrums, not negotiations”
Schumer also denounced the altered video, which falsely portrayed him making derogatory remarks about Democrats seeking support from immigrants.
“If you think your shutdown is a joke, it just proves what we all know: You can’t negotiate,” Schumer posted on X. “You can only throw tantrums.”
Democrats say GOP “lying about healthcare”
Jeffries later told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell that the video was a “malignant distraction” from Republicans’ effort to attack healthcare protections.
“They are lying about what we’re asking to do,” Jeffries said. “We’ve made clear that federal law currently prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving comprehensive health care paid for by federal American tax dollars. No one is asking to change that law.”
Instead, he argued, Democrats are working to defend Americans’ healthcare “under relentless assault by the Republicans throughout this year.”
What the AI video showed
The AI-manipulated clip, posted on Monday night, depicted Jeffries in silence under a superimposed sombrero as mariachi music played. Schumer, his voice altered, was made to say Democrats had lost support among voters and needed to give “illegal aliens free health care” to secure votes.
Shutdown talks deadlocked
Earlier on Monday, Trump met with Jeffries and Schumer at the White House in a last-ditch effort to avoid a government shutdown. Lawmakers described the conversation as “serious” but said no deal was reached.