Newsom Shares AI Clip of Trump, Aides in Handcuffs

California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to a White House “cuffing season” video with one of his own, this time putting President Trump in digital handcuffs. On Wednesday, Newsom shared an AI-generated clip on X depicting Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller sitting on a stoop as the words “It’s cuffing season” appear, according to The Hill. The trio then appear in the back of a car, raising their bound hands to their faces as if in distress, before the scene cuts to them seemingly headed toward a courthouse, surrounded by police, reporters, and onlookers snapping photos. Singer SZA’s song “Big Boys” accompanies the montage.

Newsom’s post was a direct response to a White House video that used the same track over footage of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers making arrests, captioned: “We heard it’s cuffing szn. Bad news for criminal illegal aliens. Great news for America.” That clip, along with similar videos, has drawn sharp criticism from artists. SZA accused the administration on X of “rage baiting artists for free promo” and described the tactic as “Evil n Boring,” while pop singer Sabrina Carpenter previously called the White House’s use of her music in a comparable ICE video “evil and disgusting.”

Newsom has increasingly turned to AI-generated content to mock President Trump. Last week, he shared a fake image of himself receiving an “inaugural Kohl’s Peace Prize” after Trump received a FIFA Peace Prize instead of the Nobel Prize he has long sought. In October, his campaign posted an AI mashup of Trump as Marie Antoinette, captioned, “NO HEALTH CARE FOR YOU PEASANTS, BUT A BALLROOM FOR THE QUEEN!”—a jab at Republican priorities during a government funding debate and a controversial White House construction project.

Often mentioned as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, Newsom recently said he has “softened” toward Trump’s talk of a third term—not because he supports it, he added, but because he believes Trump’s “regime” will be measured “not in decades, but in years.”

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