Governor Newsom shares AI clip of Trump cuffed

Hold onto your hats, folks—California Governor Gavin Newsom has just dropped a digital bombshell with an AI-generated video targeting former President Donald Trump.

Newsom’s latest social media stunt features an imagined scene of Trump, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, all in handcuffs, as a pointed jab at the former administration, as The Hill reports.

This digital creation, shared on Wednesday, paints a dramatic picture of the trio sitting outside with hands bound, later showing them in a car, mockingly raising cuffed wrists as if overcome with emotion.

AI Video Sparks Political Firestorm

The video crescendos with the men seemingly en route to a courthouse, surrounded by police, reporters, and onlookers with phones in hand, all set to the tune of SZA’s “Big Boys.”

Newsom’s move wasn’t a random act of creativity—it’s a direct retort to a White House video that also used SZA’s track to highlight ICE arrests, accompanied by the caption, “WE HEARD IT’S CUFFING SZN.”

That White House post, touting “bad news for criminal illegal aliens” but “great news for America,” drew sharp criticism from artists like SZA and Sabrina Carpenter for using their music without consent.

Artists Push Back on Song Usage

SZA didn’t mince words, slamming the White House’s tactics as “Rage baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK ..inhumanity +shock and aw tactics ..Evil n Boring.”

Her frustration echoes a broader discontent with political entities co-opting creative work for divisive messaging, a practice that feels more like exploitation than endorsement.

Newsom, no stranger to wielding AI as a political weapon, has a track record of crafting such content to poke at Trump, from superimposing his face on historical figures to fabricating awards like a “Kohl’s Peace Prize.”

Newsom’s History of Digital Jabs

Just last week, he mocked Trump with an AI image tied to a fictional peace prize, and earlier, depicted him in a satirical historical context during a government shutdown.

On Sunday, Newsom took a different tone, commenting on the notion of Trump seeking another term with, “I’ve softened, to your question, on this notion of a third Trump term because time of life and state of mind.”

While that remark might suggest a begrudging respect, it’s hard to see it as anything but a backhanded compliment, especially given the handcuff video’s biting imagery.

Balancing Satire with Serious Critique

Let’s be clear: Newsom’s video is satire, but it’s the kind of humor that cuts deep, especially for those who view Trump as a bulwark against progressive overreach.

Yet, even as conservatives may bristle at this digital caricature, there’s a valid critique of both sides using sensationalist media—whether it’s the White House’s post or Newsom’s response—to score cheap points instead of debating policy.

At the end of the day, while Newsom’s AI antics might entertain some and enrage others, they underscore a troubling trend: politics increasingly played out through memes and mockery, leaving little room for substantive dialogue on issues that actually matter to Americans.