Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) weighed in on criticism surrounding a video shared by President Trump on Monday, which used AI to poke fun at Democrats’ “ridiculous” demands to avert a government shutdown.
“I tell you, I think it’s said in jest,” Marshall told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during an appearance Monday on “The Source.”
“I think it’s the president making fun of a couple people that didn’t bring a serious request to the White House,” he added.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday reupped their pledge to withhold the votes needed to approve a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government past the Sept. 30 deadline — an unyielding effort to reverse cuts to Medicaid included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and to force an extension of subsidies expiring under the Affordable Care Act.
The president met with the Democratic leaders at the White House on Monday but ultimately brushed off their attempt at negotiation. Following their conversation, Trump mocked Schumer and Jeffries in a post online, using AI-generated content to alter their words.
“Nobody likes Democrats anymore. We have no voters left because of all of our woke, trans bulls‑‑‑,” the AI version of Schumer was made to say. “Not even Black people want to vote for us anymore.”
“Even Latinos hate us. So, we need new voters, and if we give all these illegal aliens free healthcare, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us,” it continued in the altered comments.
Jeffries was plastered with a fake mustache and a sombrero.
On Monday, Marshall refused to condemn the content posted by the president.
“Look, I think sometimes the president plays with the press like a little boy and a flashlight and a dog,” he told Collins. “And he’s shining the flashlight here, and he’s shining it there.”
“What he’s saying is, this offer from the Democrats is ridiculous: $1.5 trillion on top of funding that they already agreed to, that what they’re asking for is completely ridiculous,” the GOP lawmaker added. “It’s disingenuous.”
