On Saturday, protests against the Trump administration erupted across all 50 states, drawing millions of participants. The demonstrations, branded as “No Kings,” featured a variety of signs, including “Sorry for being weird, this is my first dictatorship” and “No Kings Since 1776.” The second term references the year the United States declared independence from Great Britain. In doing so, it draws attention to the protestors’ call for democratic governance rather than monarchical rule.
The protests were organized as a backlash against President Donald Trump’s recent actions and statements, which many perceive as authoritarian. In response to the widespread demonstrations, Trump remarked, “They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.” He further insisted, “I’m not a king. I work my ass off to make our country great. That’s all it is.” Despite the massive turnout, Trump dismissed the protests as insignificant, claiming, “The demonstrations were very small, very ineffective, and the people were whacked out.”
In the midst of those protests, Trump found the time to release a 19-second AI-generated attack ad on social media late Saturday night. The clip features him wearing a gold crown and operating a plane humorously named “King Trump,” which appears to dump sludge on a group of protestors. The release of this new video drew a flurry of responses on the internets. Some found it funny, others attacked it for mocking serious political debate.
One GOP senator, JD Vance, quickly came to Trump’s defense, calling the video “funny.” Critics made clear their outrage that AI-generated imagery and deepfake technology would be deployed in political campaigns. Consequently, they consider these practices to be among the most egregious. This is not the first time that Trump has resorted to such tactics. He was the same guy who once paid for a deepfake video of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling other Democrats “woke pieces of shit.” So much so that this same video went on to be featured in an attack ad from Senate Republicans attacking Schumer.
As the country debated reactions to these protests and Trump’s incendiary video, Vice-President Biden made an interesting assessment of the political climate. While not directly addressing the protests, she stated, “You can negotiate in good faith while poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats’ positions.” Her comments indicate a recognition of the push and pull between the two sides, but a hope to keep things friendly and fun.