The vile troll who used artificial intelligence to create a racist video of the Obamas shared by President Trump was behind another viral outrage.
Among dozens of posts fired out in quick succession by the 79-year-old overnight, there’s a clip that shows Michelle and Barack Obama with their heads superimposed onto the bodies of animated apes. The vile video, which drew wide criticism, was sensationally defended by the White House on Friday morning.
Despite the clear racist imagery, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told several outlets that the outrage concerning the video was “fake,” saying: “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
The appalling video, which the Daily Beast has chosen not to show, was made by content creator ‘Xerias,’ who also appears to be the mastermind behind another AI-generated clip shared by Trump, in October last year. “LMAO My President,” Xerias wrote on Truth Social, celebrating the president sharing the new handiwork.
The president shared Xerias’s older work after millions turned out for “No Kings” protests across the country to speak out against the increasingly authoritarian bent to his rule. In response, the president posted a video that depicted a digitally rendered “King Trump” piloting a fighter jet and dropping what appears to be poop on protestors.
One of the targets in the wild video was Democratic TikTok political commentator Harry Sisson. “He’s proving our point about him, that he’s childish. He’s only interested in internet beef with people. He’s not a serious legislator. He doesn’t actually care about making this country better. He just likes getting into feuds,” he told The Daily Beast Podcast at the time.
“Trump has a habit of, when he’s panicked and really nervous, of just lashing out,” the influencer said. “And so I just think that maybe perhaps I was on his mind that day and he decided to pick me to target.”
Sisson, 23, described being “depressed” and in “disbelief” that “the president of the United States” would post such a video. But he said “living rent-free in the president’s mind” was a “great source of flattery.”
The artificial intelligence-generated slop, set to the Top Gun song “Danger Zone,” went viral quickly. Singer Kenny Loggins also spoke out against it, demanding it was deleted because it used his track without permission.
“This is an unauthorized use of my performance of ‘Danger Zone,’” the 77-year-old said. “Nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied, and I request that my recording on this video is removed immediately.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was also forced to defend it. Speaking to the press, his excuse was that social media-savvy Trump uses his Truth Social to engage with Americans.
“The president uses social media to make a point,” a visibly uncomfortable Johnson responded. “You can argue he’s probably the most effective person who’s ever used social media for that.”
Johnson went on to claim Trump was using “satire to make a point.”
Not much is known about Xerias, but the creator has profiles on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Trump’s Truth Social. Elon Musk’s social media site says that the creator is based in the U.S.
“I meme what’s trending,” the creator writes in social bios. In recent weeks, they have posted a video of Don Lemon twerking and pole dancing in prison. In another clip, the former CNN host is embraced by disgraced rapper Diddy in jail.
Others show a digital Trump dancing with new MAGA darling, Nicki Minaj, and Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar being assaulted by her real-life attacker, only this time with an Iron Man arm.
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