Overview

• Vice President JD Vance called the president’s AI videos “funny” and vowed the sombrero memes would stop if Hakeem Jeffries helps pass a funding deal.
• The White House showcased the content by looping the Jeffries sombrero clip in the press area as the shutdown entered its early days.
• Hakeem Jeffries condemned the videos as racist and fake, while Chuck Schumer criticized the stunt as childish and unserious.
• The AI posts put a sombrero and mustache on Jeffries and featured fabricated audio of Schumer making vulgar claims about Democrats and immigrants.
• Republicans diverged on the flap, with Speaker Mike Johnson advising Jeffries to ignore the memes as both parties sought a path to reopen the government.