Newsom Posts AI Video Showing Trump And White House Officials Crying In handcuffs

Key takeaways

The video shows Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller sitting on a curb with their hands behind their backs before transitioning to scenes of them appearing distressed in the back of a car and approaching what looks like a courthouse.

Throughout the clip, R&B singer SZA's song "Big Boys" plays in the background with the text "It's cuffing season" appearing on screen.

Responding to White House's ICE video

Newsom's video was posted in direct response to a controversial White House social media post from Monday that used the same SZA song to promote Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests.

The White House video featured footage of ICE agents in tactical gear making arrests, with the caption: "WE HEARD IT'S CUFFING SZN. Bad news for criminal illegal aliens. Great news for America."

The term "cuffing season" typically refers to the fall and winter period when people seek romantic relationships, popularized in a 2022 Saturday Night Live sketch featuring SZA. The White House repurposed the term to reference literal handcuffs during immigration enforcement operations.

Artists condemn White House music use

SZA joined a growing list of artists criticizing the Trump administration for using their music without permission in political messaging.

On Wednesday, the Grammy-winning artist wrote on X: "White House rage baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK ..inhumanity + shock and awe tactics ..Evil n Boring."

Her manager, Terrence "Punch" Henderson, also weighed in, stating: "Trying to provoke artists to respond in order to help spread propaganda and political agendas is nasty business. Knock it off."

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded to SZA by saying: "Thank you, SZA, for drawing even more attention to the tremendous work America's ICE officers are doing by arresting dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American communities."

Political tensions escalate

Trump's senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, Peter Navarro, strongly criticized Newsom's video.

"I went to prison, defending the constitution because of woke a[--]holes like you who weaponized our justice system," Navarro wrote on X. "This isn't close to funny. All you are doing is inciting more violence."

Navarro, who served four months in prison for contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection, appeared particularly sensitive to the handcuff imagery.

Newsom responded to Navarro's criticism with only a snowflake emoji when reposting his comments.

The California governor has been one of Trump's most vocal critics and is considered a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Newsom described Trump as "one of the most destructive presidents and human beings in my lifetime," adding that the country is at "real risk" of becoming "unrecognizable."

This is not the first time Newsom has used AI-generated content to criticize Trump.

Last week, he shared an AI image of himself receiving a fictitious "Kohl's Peace Prize" after Trump received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize.

In October, his campaign office posted an AI image of Marie Antoinette with Trump's face during debates over health care funding and White House renovations.

The latest exchange comes as the Trump administration continues its hardline immigration enforcement policies, which have drawn criticism from Democratic officials and civil liberties groups.

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