Topline

President Donald Trump on Monday night shared an AI-generated video showing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, hurling expletives while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stands next to him with a sombrero and a mustache, just days after the president shared and then deleted another AI-generated video boosting a far-right conspiracy theory about so-called “medbeds.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a press conference alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., following a meeting between the Congressional Democratic leaders and President Trump.

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The video, which Trump shared on his Truth Social platform without any caption, appears to be an AI-altered clip of the two Democratic leaders’ remarks to the press after their meeting with the President to discuss a deal to keep the government funded.

The clip shows Jeffries standing in the background with an image of a sombrero and a large mustache overlaid on his face, while a deepfake version of Schumer talks about how “nobody likes Democrats anymore…because of all of our woke, trans bullsh—.”

As Mexican folk music plays in the background, the deepfake Schumer says the Democrats need new voters and therefore want to give “all these illegal aliens free healthcare…so they can vote for us.”

The AI-generated voice of Schumer continues the expletive-filled rant, saying the Democrats are “just a bunch of woke pieces of sh—.”

In his actual remarks to the press, Schumer signaled that a government shutdown was looming as no deal could be reached between the two parties, noting: “Their bill has not one iota of Democratic input…It’s up to the Republicans whether they want a shutdown or not.”

How Have The Democratic Leaders Reacted?

In a post on X, Schumer commented on the video, saying: “If you think your shutdown is a joke, it just proves what we all know: You can’t negotiate. You can only throw tantrums.” Jeffries, on the other hand, shared an old photo of Trump posing with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with the caption: “This is real.” Jeffries later addressed the deepfake clip on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. “It’s a disgusting video, and we’re going to continue to make clear, bigotry will get you nowhere. We are fighting to protect the health care of the American people in the face of an unprecedented Republican assault on all the things: Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act.” Jeffries later added, “Leader Schumer and I will have more to say about this issue. But again, this is all designed to be a malignant distraction from people who are determined to continue to rip health care away from the American people.”

What Do We Know About Trump’s Medbeds Deepfake Video?

Monday night’s post comes just days after the president shared and later deleted an AI-generated video of a Fox News broadcast where a deepfake version of Trump promises Americans access to so-called “medbeds.” Medbeds are a piece of fictional technology that many far-right conspiracy theory groups like QAnon believe can miraculously cure any disease and even regrow body parts. Trump posted the now-deleted clip on his Truth Social account on Saturday evening, where a deepfake version of his voice promises “medbed cards” for Americans, which would grant access to hospitals “designed to restore every citizen to full health and strength.”

What Do We Know About Trump’s Controversial Ai Posts?

In recent months, the president has shared and reposted multiple apparent AI-generated or altered videos and images of himself, which have stirred controversy. Earlier this month, Trump posted an apparent AI-generated poster with the caption “Chipocalypse Now,” in the style of the film “Apocalypse Now.” The image showed Trump, dressed like Robert Duval’s character from the movie, standing in front of a flaming Chicago Skyline. The image was accompanied by the text “I love the smell of deportations in the morning…Chicago [is] about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” The president had also courted controversy in May after posting an AI-generated image of himself as the Pope, ahead of the Vatican’s conclave to pick a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Further Reading

How Trump Boosted Bizarre ‘Medbed’ Conspiracy Theory With Deleted Post (Forbes)