It’s not just President Donald Trump who’s using AI to mock political foes.
California Governor Gavin Newsom turned to artificial intelligence to torch Trump’s tariffs and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s bizarre pep rally for top military brass in a series of X posts on Tuesday.
The Democratic firebrand found the perfect character for the job: a memefied version of Vice President JD Vance.
In one post, Newsom responds to a clip of Hegseth telling senior military leaders: “No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression. We’re gonna cut our hair, shave our beards, and adhere to standards.”
JD “JUST DANCE” VANCE, YOU’VE BEEN BOOTED BY PETE! https://t.co/Oyywj5GgpZ pic.twitter.com/CAtVGj3zwD
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 30, 2025
“JD ‘JUST DANCE’ VANCE, YOU’VE BEEN BOOTED BY PETE!” Newsom wrote, accompanied by a video of a curly-haired, chubby-faced, bearded Vance dancing to pop star Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance.”
The edited image of Vance first made the rounds on social media earlier this year, when thousands of users took liberties with the vice president’s official portrait to turn him into everything from a black-haired goth to a rosy-faced woman.
Newsom was mocking Hegseth’s attempt at rallying the troops in Virginia, which turned out to be a 45-minute anti-woke rant targeting fat generals, men with beards, and “dudes in dresses.”
In another post, Newsom’s press office used AI to depict the same memefied Vance as the host of a made-up show titled “A History of Couches,” in an apparent dig at the bizarre and wildly false rumor that the vice president once had carnal relations with furniture.
POOR JD! HIS SWEET BELOVED COUCH NOW COSTS MORE WITH THE TARIFFS! pic.twitter.com/dNvISJcSPq
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) September 30, 2025
“People exaggerate, twist the truth. But when you sit on one, you understand where such stories come from,” AI Vance said.
“POOR JD!” Newsom’s press office wrote on X. “HIS SWEET BELOVED COUCH NOW COSTS MORE WITH THE TARIFFS!”
Vance’s team did not immediately return a request for comment.
In a third post, the California Democrat’s team generated a cartoon version of Trump being walked like a dog by one of his top aides, Stephen Miller.
TIME FOR YOUR DAILY WALK, DONALD! (NO STAIRS) pic.twitter.com/I3tLw7fhyA
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) October 1, 2025
“TIME FOR YOUR DAILY WALK, DONALD! (NO STAIRS),” the post read, appearing to make fun of Trump for admitting in his Tuesday speech before military officials that he struggles with descending the stairs in his advanced age.
“I’m very careful. You know, when I walk downstairs—like I’m on stairs like these stairs—I walk very slowly,” he said. “Nobody has to set a record. Just try not to fall because it doesn’t work out well… Just walk nice and easy. You don’t have to set any record.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Newsom’s AI blitz was an unsubtle attempt to hit back at Trump’s own AI-fueled posting spree that stirred outrage on Capitol Hill.
If you think your shutdown is a joke, it just proves what we all know: You can’t negotiate. You can only throw tantrums. https://t.co/d1QrMSeAh7
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 30, 2025
As a government shutdown loomed large over Congress on Monday night, Trump was on Truth Social mocking Democratic leaders Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer using racist stereotypes in an AI-generated video.
When Jeffries spoke to MSNBC to protest the video, Trump responded by overlaying a clip of the conversation with the same distasteful effects—again generated by AI.
The post Gavin Newsom Torches JD Vance in AI Posting Spree appeared first on The Daily Beast.
