White House AI parody of Donald Trump sparks backlash

Key facts

• The White House released an AI-generated parody video of "Rick and Morty" featuring Donald Trump.
• The video depicts Trump and J.D. Vance in a flying saucer, an alien arrest, and Chuck Schumer as a robot.
• Critics, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, called the video "tone-deaf" and "unserious" due to current economic hardships.
• The parody video concluded with a "MAGA" title.

The White House has released an AI-generated video parodying the popular animated series "Rick and Morty," which has ignited significant backlash. The clip, posted on the White House's official social media channels, features animated versions of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance piloting a flying saucer, an alien being apprehended by border czar Tom Homan, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unmasking as a robot. The video concludes with a "MAGA" title.

Critics, including former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have condemned the video as "tone-deaf," "unserious," and "pathetic," particularly in light of current economic challenges such as rising gas, grocery, and rent prices, as well as ongoing global conflicts. Social media users echoed these sentiments, calling the post "abjectly pathetic" and a new low in public discourse.

The release of the parody coincides with "Rick and Morty" co-creator Dan Harmon's admission that aspects of Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama have influenced his new spin-off cartoon, "President Curtis." Harmon described the character as having a naïveté that could be overlapped with Trump's "outsider" persona, while also incorporating Obama's "charmer" and "rock star" qualities.