Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) lamented that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) rejected his advice to avoid responding to internet trolling “because it makes it worse.”
President Donald Trump posted a series of altered videos of Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) after he met with them to discuss negotiations over government funding. The common theme of the videos features Jeffries edited to appear to have a mustache and a sombrero.
Jeffries has repeatedly condemned the president’s posts, but this hasn’t stopped the social media campaign. Johnson revealed that he advised Hakeem on how to combat the trend.
“Now we live in a social media age, and people use it. I think President Trump uses it as effectively as anybody ever has. And I told my friend Hakeem — who is my friend — I said, ‘Man, don’t pay attention to it. Don’t respond to it because it makes it worse,’” Johnson said in a pre-taped interview on MSNBC News’s Morning Joe Monday.
“I learned that the hard way a long time ago,” Johnson added. “ I mean, 48 hours ago, [Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA)] was trolling me. He painted me as a little yellow minion with big glasses and overalls. I laughed at it. I don’t respond to it.”
Johnson attempted to defend Trump’s use of trolling despite the fact that he does not partake in it himself. As the videos of Jeffries gained traction online, Johnson did not share them on his own social media accounts.
“I think the president’s team is using social media and all of the tools, their memes and all the rest,” Johnson said.
“You know, I think what they’re doing is pointing out the absurdity of Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries’s political position,” Johnson added. “They don’t want to do this. They’re put in this position by the Democrats in the Senate. They’re the ones that chose to shut the government down and to put this responsibility on the Office of Management and Budget,” Johnson said.
When asked about the video, Jeffries told reporters during a press conference last week, “It’s deeply unserious.”
JEFFRIES’S CRITICISM OF TRUMP’S AI VIDEO SPARKS ANOTHER VIDEO
“Mr. President, the next time you have something to say about me, don’t cop out through a racist and fake AI video,” Jeffries said. “When I’m back in the Oval Office, say it to my face.”
The Senate is expected to vote on funding the government for a fifth time on Monday. However, Jeffries claimed Sunday that there haven’t been any negotiations between Trump and both party leadership since the government closed at midnight on Oct. 1. According to Jeffries, the president has “gone radio silent,” which does not bode well for a successful vote to fund the government.
