President Donald Trump tried to flex his power Monday by posting a deepfake video on Truth Social mocking Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries — but instead of dominating the moment, he only set himself up for a brutal clapback that stole the spotlight.
Lawmakers face a Tuesday midnight deadline with no deal in sight, raising the likelihood of a shutdown early Wednesday morning.
The ridiculous AI-generated clip, which also mocked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, quickly drowned out news of the budget impasse.
“Trump posted this racist AI video of Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer to his social media platform. The MAGA cult will believe that it’s real without question,” one commenter said on Threads. The majority of voices called the post “beneath the dignity of the office” and “a disgrace.”
“This is one of the most demented things Trump has posted,” wrote independent journalist Aaron Rupar, who regularly shared Trump’s latest controversy.
On CNN, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall attempted to defend the president.
“Sometimes the president plays with a press like a little boy and a flashlight and a dog and he’s shining the flashlight here, and he’s shining it there,” Marshall said. When pressed by host Kaitlan Collins about whether the post was appropriate, Marshall replied, “I think it’s said in jest. I think it’s the president making fun of a couple people that didn’t bring a serious request to the White House.”
Critics on social media weren’t buying it.
“Trump is such a childish a—hole! That motherf—er will always be a f—ing juvenile delinquent,” one reaction read. Another said, “This ‘supposed’ leader is such a disgrace!! Every day he does something that makes him a even bigger low life.”
Calls for impeachment flooded social media.
“Trump needs to be IMPEACHED IMMEDIATELY! HE IS NOT WELL. THIS IS LUNACY!!!!!!” Another added, “Impeach or Article 25 for racist mental illness/insanity! Trump must go now!”
View on Threads
Jeffries delivered a brutal clapback, posting the infamous photo of Trump smiling beside Jeffrey Epstein, with his hand on Epstein’s shoulder. “This is real,” Jeffries wrote on X. The post lit up social media, with reactions like “Finally,” “Brilliant!” and “It’s about damn time. Take the gloves off!”
The New York lawmaker wasn’t done with his takedown. The following day he dared Trump to confront him in person. “The next time you have something to say about me, don’t cop out through a racist and fake AI video. When I’m back in the Oval Office, say it to my face.”
Inside the Oval Office meeting earlier in the day, discussions over expiring health insurance subsidies marked the only hint of compromise.
Vice President JD Vance told Democrats, “Let’s work on it together,” while stressing talks could only happen “in the context of an open government.”
Trump also expressed openness to negotiating the subsidies but said discussions could not move forward during a shutdown.
“They need to do the right thing, keep the government open, and then we can talk about it,” one of them said, according to Politico.
Democrats dismissed those overtures.
“We think when they say ‘later,’ they mean ‘never,’” Schumer told reporters. “We have to do it now.” Jeffries added, “To kick the can down the road and expect us to take a Hail Mary promise, that’s unreasonable.” Both leaders emphasized that Medicaid cuts and the looming subsidy expiration represented a health care “crisis” for millions of Americans.
Republicans countered that Democrats were holding government funding “hostage” to policy demands. “I think we’re headed into a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing,” Vance said. Another participant in the meeting described the discussion as “frank” but said the two sides were “too far apart.”
Schumer later told reporters that Trump agreed with him that presidents typically take the blame for shutdowns.
“I said, ‘You know, the president gets the blame for this stuff.’ He admitted that.”
A source briefed on the meeting disputed that account, insisting Trump only noted presidents are usually blamed but said he would not be this time, Politico reported.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune denied any split among Republicans.
“I think Schumer is desperate to change the subject,” he said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that framing: “President Trump gave Chuck Schumer and the Democrats an opportunity to agree on a common sense, nonpartisan solution that would keep the government funded and open. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats have unfortunately chosen to pick a partisan fight and shut the government down.”
Beyond Washington, however, attention centered squarely on Trump’s outrageous video post.
“I am sorry but the President should not be doing this kind of stuff on social media. It is beneath the dignity of the office,” one critic wrote.
Others called it racist toward Mexican Americans and immigrants. Some said Trump was purposely distracting from Republican accountability on the potential shutdown.
Conservatives, however, claimed Trump was highlighting Democratic proposals to extend benefits to undocumented immigrants. “I’d rather have our government SHUTDOWN than having my taxpayer money fund illegals and transgender surgeries,” read a post from the conservative Facebook page Man Stuff.
Liberal commenters pushed back, pointing to Trump-era cuts that gutted Medicaid and jeopardized rural hospitals.
“Does he think we forgot about the ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ the REPUBLICANS pushed thru and cut funding to rural hospitals?” one said. Another added: “GOP cut funding to rural hospitals and are mad that this fact is being told to their constituents who were ignorant to believe GOP cared about their health and welfare.”
The issue has become politically perilous even for Republicans who backed Trump’s health care package. Sen. Josh Hawley, who voted for the cuts, recently introduced the Protect Medicaid and Rural Hospitals Act to restore funding, underscoring the backlash in communities reliant on federal health dollars.
Despite GOP efforts to shift blame, many observers noted that Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress. As one viral comment put it, “Republicans control all branches of the government so if it shuts down Republicans own it.”
