Trump-Musk AI video shocks HUD amid mass federal layoffs
The Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington employees were taken aback by an unusual video generated by artificial intelligence. The video, displayed throughout the building, depicted President Donald Trump licking Elon Musk's feet.
The approximately five-minute video caused a stir among employees, who scrambled to turn off the monitors in the hallways. Department spokeswoman Kasey Lovett confirmed that the clip was indeed shown at the department's headquarters. In a statement released to the media, she assured that appropriate actions would be taken against all involved.
Although the video was quickly removed from the department's screens, it soon found its way onto the internet, where it promptly went viral.
The AI-generated video shows Trump massaging and kissing Musk's feet, with Musk smiling at the U.S. President. Musk has two left feet in the video, quickly revealing the artificial intelligence's role in creating the controversial image. The screen displays the caption, "LONG LIVE THE REAL KING."
Chaos in federal agencies
The video emerged as Trump and Musk are overseeing mass layoffs in federal agencies, which are causing upheaval throughout the country. The Musk-led initiative plans to lay off nearly half of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's employees and 84% of the staff in the Office of Planning and Community Development.
On Saturday, federal employees received emails from the Office of Personnel Management asking them to detail the tasks they completed last week. A few hours earlier, Musk had posted on the social media platform X, stating that a lack of response "will be considered a resignation."
Last week, DOGE provided a review of canceled government contracts, claiming that this action saved the state budget up to 55 billion dollars. However, the media has challenged these claims, citing both calculation errors (with millions represented as billions in one instance) and the fact that Musk's team included maximum amounts allocated for specific contracts on the savings side, even though it is unlikely that the government intended to spend at that level, explained CNN.
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