California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked JD Vance with an AI video showing the vice president praising couches and an old photograph of him wearing a blonde wig and makeup when he was a student.
Newsom's office's X account has recently leaned into pushing AI content mocking President Donald Trump and other MAGA figures.
Another AI-generated image from the account on Tuesday ridiculed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's speech criticising "fat" generals, with the fake picture showing Trump eating burgers delivered by drones in McDonald's bags.
The Vance videos reference an unfounded rumor that went viral during the 2024 election that he had written about getting intimate with a couch. The pictures of Vance in a wig are believed to have been taken at a party in Yale in 2012.
“Yes, there’s a photo of me in drag from a college party, and that’s normal. Everyone experiments in college, costumes, makeup, whatever, totally normal,” Vance says in one of the fake videos. “But what I don’t understand is why people are so obsessed with this other thing, couch intimacy.”
“Look, couches are comfortable, they’re dependable. They support you when you’re down. If you can’t appreciate that kind of bond, maybe you’re the one with issues.”
Another AI video from Newsom's office on Tuesday showed Vance praising couches and delivering a history of them.
The videos resemble in style those Trump and his allies have pushed mocking Democrats, with a slew from the president this week referencing the QAnon "medbeds" conspiracy theory, and containing racist images of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.