President Donald Trump doubled down on his mocking of Democratic leaders, posting another fake video showing House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero and mustache despite criticism that Trump’s first post was “racist.”
Why It Matters
The video on Tuesday comes as the clock is running out before the midnight deadline to avert a U.S. government shutdown after high-stakes negotiations at the White House between Trump and congressional leaders, including Jeffries, ended in a stalemate.
Accusations that the president is being bigoted with his video posts come weeks after issues around respect between political rivals and free speech were thrust into the spotlight by the assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder and CEO Charlie Kirk on September 10.
What To Know
Trump’s latest AI-altered video shows Jeffries talking on a political news program about Trump’s Monday video that showed the U.S. congressman from New York wearing a sombrero and fake mustache as he stood with Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The new video, just 14 seconds long, begins with genuine footage of Jeffries saying in a television interview: “It’s a disgusting video and we’re going to make clear bigotry will get you nowhere,” before a sombrero and mustache appear on him and a four-piece mariachi band—with Trump as all four members, also wearing sombreros—play behind him.
As the band plays, Jeffries continues with his genuine comment in the television interview, saying: “We are fighting to protect the health care of the American people in the face of an unprecedented Republican assault.”
The government funding dispute largely centers on whether to include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies in the spending bill. Democrats say health care protections must be preserved, while Republicans say that funding and policy should be handled separately.
Jeffries was asked in a CNN interview, shortly after the second fake video was posted, if Trump was interested in negotiating in good faith at all or if he was just “trolling” Democrats.
“That’s exactly the point,” Jeffries said. “He’s an unserious individual, the Republicans are unserious at this point. They have no interest in having a good-faith conversation—and all of the behavior, erratic unhinged behavior, that we’ve seen subsequent to that White House meeting—just suggests to the American people who actually is trying to drive us towards a government shutdown.”
What People Are Saying
Democratic U.S. Representative Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, referring to Trump’s first video, told House Speaker Mike Johnson: “It’s disgraceful, it’s bigoted, it’s racist. You should call it out.”
What Happens Next
The U.S. government looks poised to shut down at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, which would trigger widespread disruption to federal operations and could imperil the income and benefits of thousands of government workers, along with services.
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