The White House briefing room displayed racist deepfake videos of Democratic leaders on a loop for hours on Wednesday, as the Trump administration claims to be serious about negotiating an end to the government shutdown. The videos, posted by Donald Trump on his social media platform on Monday, use fabricated audio to make Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer appear to call Democrats “woke pieces of shit” and show House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries with a fake mustache and sombrero.
Vice-President JD Vance made light of the tactic during a rare appearance in the briefing room. “I think it’s funny. The president’s joking and we’re having a good time,” Vance said. He added, “I’ll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now, I make the solemn promise to you that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop.”
Jeffries has denounced the memes as racist. Vance retorted, “I honestly don’t even know what that means. Like, is he a Mexican American that is offended by having a sombrero meme?” The clips, set to Mexican mariachi music, are intended to push the administration’s false claim that Democrats demand health insurance subsidies for unauthorised immigrants as a condition for funding the government. In reality, Democrats seek to ensure funding for Americans relying on Affordable Care Act subsidies, for which undocumented immigrants are ineligible.
The fabricated words put in Schumer’s mouth echo the far-right “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which has been cited by perpetrators of racist mass shootings, including the El Paso Walmart attack in 2019 and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in 2018. After Jeffries called the first video racist, Trump posted a second clip showing Jeffries with a sombrero and mustache, alongside a mariachi band featuring four versions of Trump.
