The Trump administration has sparked controversy by co-opting the likeness of Hollywood A-lister and prominent Democratic supporter Jon Hamm in a new, AI-generated campaign advertisement. The video, which has been viewed over a million times, repurposes a popular meme of the Mad Men star to promote President Donald Trump's re-election bid.
Meme Appropriated for Political Message
Posted to official White House social media channels on Saturday night, the 20-second clip begins with a shot of President Trump. It then seamlessly transitions, using artificial intelligence, to a scene of Jon Hamm dancing euphorically with his eyes closed in a nightclub. The footage is taken from the Apple TV+ series Your Friends and Neighbors and is set to Kato's 2010 song Turn the Lights Off.
A slogan superimposed above Hamm's head reads: 'When someone says America is the hottest country anywhere in the world.' The video is captioned 'ALL WE NEEDED WAS A NEW PRESIDENT.' The clip concludes with the dancing image fading to a dark screen, replaced by an outline of the White House and the United States flag, followed by the message: 'The White House. Donald J. Trump.'
A History of Democratic Support
The use of Hamm's image is particularly contentious given his well-documented support for Democratic candidates. In the 2024 Senate election in his home state of Missouri, he narrated an ad for Democrat Lucas Kunce, criticising Republican Josh Hawley over his actions during the January 6 Capitol attack.
His political activism extends back years: he endorsed Barack Obama in 2012, attended a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton during her 2016 campaign against Trump, and in January 2024 endorsed Democrat Adam Schiff in the California Senate race.
White House Faces Backlash and a Pattern of Unauthorised Use
This incident is not isolated. The Trump White House has repeatedly used celebrities' images and music without permission, often triggering fierce reprisals.
Earlier this month, pop star Sabrina Carpenter condemned the administration for using her song Juno in a video promoting Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportations, calling it 'evil and disgusting.' White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson hit back, using Carpenter's own lyrics against her in a public statement.
Similarly, fellow pop star Olivia Rodrigo warned the administration after it used her song All American B***h in another deportation video, stating: 'Don't ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.' In October, singer Kenny Loggins also opposed the use of his track Danger Zone in a Trump AI video.
While the White House's posts typically garner frenzied support from MAGA followers, Saturday's Jon Hamm video faced a more critical audience. This was partly due to simmering discontent over the limited and redacted release of the Epstein files.
One critic commented: 'Gotta love those redacted Epstein Files, expensive groceries, companies selling to China because of Tariff debt, oh and the additional $2 trillion dollars added to the debt in less than 1 year.' Another shared a widely seen photo of Trump with Jeffrey Epstein, adding: 'All we need was all the Epstein files.'
The episode underscores the increasingly aggressive and unapproved use of celebrity imagery by political campaigns in the AI age, setting the stage for further legal and public relations battles.
