Kathrine Frich
The anger did not come from his political rivals.
Politicians usually spend election years trying to look like the average voter.
They visit diners and complain about grocery prices to win over struggling families.
But sometimes, that humble mask slips in the most spectacular way possible.
A digital flex
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino is facing massive backlash from his own party. The outrage started after he shared a bizarre social media post over the weekend.
Scavino posted an AI-generated video on Instagram. The clip showed him popping champagne bottles alongside Eric and Lara Trump, set to a popular Pitbull track.
He claimed he wanted to be transparent about a recent White House event. According to The Daily Beast, Scavino wrote that his post was not meant to make heads explode.
Brutal conservative backlash
The anger did not come from his political rivals. Prominent conservatives quickly slammed the display as completely out of touch with voters who are struggling to pay their bills.
Conservative activist Carrie Prejean Boller did not hold back. “You really have no shame, do you? Many Americans can’t afford groceries, gas or their mortgage payment, and you post a tone deaf AI video of you and your buddies partying at the People’s House,” she wrote, according to The Daily Beast.
Meghan McCain also chimed in. She noted that one of her friends could not afford air conditioning over the summer.
Doubling down online
The White House did not respond right away to requests for comment. Scavino, however, decided to post again instead of issuing an apology to his critics.
He shared a second AI-generated video on Sunday afternoon. The new clip featured imagined scenes of Donald Trump doing a keg stand and riding a jet ski across the water.
And Scavino directly mocked the people complaining about his digital content. “…as the typical nutters are losing their s–t over AI created content, well done! It is AI, correct?” he wrote, as reported by The Daily Beast.
Midterm warning signs
This controversy is a major headache for Republican strategists. Polling suggests the party is facing a brutal battle at the ballot box this November.
Advisors have begged the president to focus on the cost of living. Trump is instead tying the upcoming midterms directly to his own image.
“Pretend that I am on the ballot,” Trump told supporters recently. “I’m on the ballot,” The Daily Beast reported.
Sources: The Daily Beast
