Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) that he should ignore the AI-doctored videos President Trump has posted picturing him in a sombrero, calling them a “sideshow” distracting from ending the government shutdown.
Johnson in a press conference Thursday brought up Jeffries being “all alarmed” by videos that Trump has posted, which edit a sombrero and mustache onto Jeffries — an apparent reference to Republicans’ shaky claims that Democrats are demanding free health care for immigrants in the country illegally. Jeffries had called the video “racist,” challenging Trump to “say it to my face.”
Johnson downplayed the videos.
“These are games. These are sideshows. People are getting caught up in — in battles over social media memes,” Johnson said. “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.”
“And to my friend Hakeem, who I was asked about: Man, just ignore it,” Johnson said.
The Speaker brought up California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) posting a video depicting Johnson as a yellow cartoon minion from the “Despicable Me” cartoon.
“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,” Johnson said.
“Get to work, do the people’s business, and let’s get on with it.”
Johnson was confronted by Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) over the initial crude AI-generated video of Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) earlier this week.
CNN’s Manu Raju posted a video of the confrontation, with Johnson saying the video “wasn’t my style.”
“Not your style? It’s disgraceful. It’s bigoted. It’s racist. You should call it out,” Dean responded.
Vice President Vance on Wednesday said he thought the video was funny.
The president’s joking, and we’re having a good time,” Vance said. “You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats’ positions.”
Vance said that if Jeffries helped reopen the government, “the sombrero memes will stop.”
