Next Story
Newszop

'Don't fear the reaper': Trump goes on bizarre AI video spree, again; features Russ Vought, JD Vance - watch

Send Push
US President Donald Trump once again released a new series of AI-generated videos, this time featuring Russell Vought and Vice President JD Vance . This latest post comes after critics condemned the 47th POTUS’ earlier AI-generated videos, calling it bizarre, offensive, and even dangerous.

Among the clips Trump shared was a surreal music video in which his budget director Russell Vought, architect of the controversial Project 2025 , is depicted as the Grim Reaper, set to an AI-generated cover of Blue Öyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” The video also shows Trump leading a band with Vance on drums, while baby-faced Democrats with sombreros and moustaches appear onscreen.


Another video portrays Trump throwing a “Trump 2028” hat at House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.


The spree followed a dinner at Vice President JD Vance’s residence on Thursday night and coincided with tense negotiations over the government shutdown .

Democrats have denounced the clips as racist, pointing to Trump’s repeated use of AI deepfakes showing Jeffries in a sombrero. Trump has used the caricature to accuse Democrats of prioritising undocumented immigrants over American citizens during shutdown talks. Jeffries hit back online, saying: “Bigotry will get you nowhere. Cancel the Cuts. Lower the Cost. Save Healthcare. We are NOT backing down.” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer added: “If you think your shutdown is a joke, it just proves what we all know: You can’t negotiate. You can only throw tantrums.”

Vance, however, dismissed the outrage. “I think it’s funny,” he told reporters, adding that the memes would stop if Democrats agreed to reopen the government.

Also read: Troller-in-chief Donald Trump on a roll as social media dumpster fire consumes US

Trump’s AI fixation comes as he openly embraces Project 2025, a hard-right blueprint he once tried to distance himself from during the 2024 campaign. On Truth Social, Trump wrote that he was consulting with Vought “to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut.” The administration has already moved to use the shutdown to accelerate mass layoffs of federal workers and to cancel billions in projects in Democratic states.

Civil rights groups warned that Trump’s memes were more than juvenile trolling. A joint statement from leading Latino organisations said: “Targeting the Latino community is not only irresponsible — it is reprehensible and beneath the office of the presidency. The troubling use of AI to amplify hateful stereotypes is reckless and designed to stigmatise Latinos.”

For Trump’s critics, the president’s latest spree shows how he is weaponising AI not just to mock opponents but also to reframe a political crisis on his own terms.
Loving Newspoint? Download the app now