Vice President JD Vance brushed off outrage over President Donald Trump sharing a video meme depicting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero, saying he was confused by claims it was ‘racist.’
‘Oh, I think it’s funny,’ Vance said Wednesday when asked if posting sombrero memes was ‘helpful’ while trying to reach a government funding agreement with Democrats. ‘The president’s joking and we’re having a good time. You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats’ positions and even, you know, poking some, some fun at the absurdity of the Democrats themselves.’
‘I’ll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now, I make this solemn promise to you, that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop,’ he quipped.
Vance joined the White House press briefing Wednesday to address the government shutdown that took effect earlier that morning after Democrat and Republican lawmakers failed to reach a funding bill agreement. The administration has pinned blame on Democrats for the shutdown, arguing members of the party are trying to push through a measure that would provide healthcare to illegal immigrants, which Democratic lawmakers have denied.
Vance’s response follows Trump posting a meme video Monday to Truth Social that depicted Jeffries wearing a mustache and a sombrero while mariachi music played in the background. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also was depicted in the video, with an AI-generated voice stating ‘nobody likes Democrats anymore’ due to ‘our woke, trans’ agenda.
The video included profanities and mocked Democrats as trying to appeal to illegal immigrants as prospective new voters.
Jeffries, as well as other Democrats and media outlets, characterized the video as ‘racist.’
‘Mr. President, the next time you have something to say about me, don’t cop out through a racist and fake AI video,’ Jeffries told reporters Tuesday, according to Politico. ‘When I’m back in the Oval Office, say it to my face.’
Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ office for comment and has not yet received a reply.
Vance also took issue with media outlets making a point to clarify to viewers that the video was ‘AI-generated,’ pointing to the comical mustache and sombrero in the video that indicated it was a joke.
‘Hakeem Jeffries said it was a racist, and I know that he said that,’ Vance said. ‘And I honestly don’t even know what that means. Like, is … he a Mexican-American that is offended by having a sombrero meme?’
‘And I saw one of the major TV stations put the meme up and then say, this is AI generated. And he had like the curly animated mustache, too. … Do you really not realize the American people recognize that he did not actually come to the White House wearing a sombrero and a black, curly animation mustache, like, give the country a little bit of credit,’ he continued.
When asked about another AI video Trump shared and then deleted on Truth Social in September — which depicted futuristic-looking ‘med beds’ that can cure illnesses — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump enjoys sharing memes online.
‘He likes to share memes. He likes to share videos, he likes to repost things that he sees other people post on social media as well. And I think it’s quite refreshing that we have a president who is so open and honest directly himself,’ she said.