President Donald Trump was facing down a full-blown government shutdown, but instead of focusing on stalled negotiations, he turned the spotlight back on himself with a string of stunts that left critics online fuming.
After being embarrassed by Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ viral clapback to his AI post, Trump visibly struggled to recall the lawmaker’s name during a White House press briefing — then hours later reignited the fight with another post that critics say revealed where his focus really was.
While repeating his false claim about lowering drug costs by 1,000 percent, Trump awkwardly dismissed the lawmaker who had just scorched him online.
“Even in the discussion … Chuck Schumer was here yesterday along with ahhh … a very nice gentleman who I didn’t really know. You know who I’m talking about,” Trump muttered.
The strange stumble immediately raised eyebrows. Many weren’t buying the act, pointing out that Trump knew Jeffries well enough to target him just hours earlier with a racist AI video — depicting the New York congressman in a sombrero with a handlebar mustache.
“Classic Trump. Dismissing a key Black leader like he’s some random guy at a rally. Jeffries isn’t just a name to forget, he’s a powerhouse holding the line for working families,” one person wrote.
Another piled on, “The Black guy. Yeah him. What an a—hole.” Others were even more direct, “He’s still pissed about the post.”
Trump’s fumble came as the U.S. federal government officially shut down at midnight Wednesday, the first since 2018 during Trump’s first term. The impasse followed failed negotiations over health care funding, with Democrats demanding Republicans restore Medicaid cuts enacted over the summer and extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at year’s end.
The lapse will furlough hundreds of thousands of workers, halt services like passport processing, and leave the nation’s 1.3 million active-duty military without pay. National parks, museums, and food inspections are grinding to a halt as federal operations go dark.
Even with Americans bracing for the fallout, Trump turned his attention back to trolling, leaving many shocked.
Late Tuesday night, he mocked Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer again by posting a behind-the-scenes photo of Oval Office negotiations, planting Trump 2028 hats in front of the two Democrats and others while mockingly pointing toward Jeffries.
“Once again, Trump proves he doesn’t just lead the country…he drags it straight into the gutter. Racism isn’t leadership; it’s cowardice masquerading as outrage,” one comment read on X in response to the shocking timing of the post.
But Trump’s base was in full support, praising Trump for his expertise at trolling. “That photo is savage — Trump turns a shutdown meeting into a campaign rally with one prop. Jeffries wanted optics of “serious leadership,” but now the only thing anyone remembers is the Trump 2028 hat on the desk. That’s alpha-level trolling: hijack the room, hijack the narrative, and leave your opponents looking like unwilling extras in your re-election ad.”
Trump had already sparked outrage by sharing the racist AI deepfake of Jeffries and Schumer on Monday evening. The video, slammed as “beneath the dignity of the office,” drew calls for impeachment and was widely ridiculed online.
The video was described as “one of the most demented things” Trump has posted.
Another added on Threads, “He should sue Trump for 200 million dollars, for defamation and lies Trump should be called out by republicans in congress for his childish behavior he is UNFIT 25 Amendment Now.”
Jeffries wasted no time in firing back. He resurfaced a photo of Trump grinning beside Jeffrey Epstein with the caption, “This is real.” The brutal counterpunch lit up X with reactions like “Finally,” “Brilliant!” and “It’s about damn time. Take the gloves off!”
The following day Jeffries went even further, daring Trump to confront him directly, “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.”
Despite GOP efforts to frame Democrats as the responsible party for the shutdown, many observers pointed out that Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Still, the Trump administration doubled down on its narrative Wednesday, officially branding the stoppage as the “Democrat Shutdown.”
On the White House website, the administration accused Democrats of engineering the crisis, declaring, “This shutdown is 100% on Democrats, whose radical agenda is poisoning our politics and punishing our people.”
The statement went on to warn of ripple effects across the country, from lapses in food assistance for low-income women and children to suspended telehealth services for Medicare patients, all while insisting that Trump and Republicans “will not be held hostage” by what they called “shameful political gamesmanship.”
Democrats, however, rejected that framing, with Schumer and Jeffries both emphasizing that restoring cuts to health care was a non-negotiable part of keeping the government open.
