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By Andrew Stanton
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A Republican lawmaker from Indiana posted an AI-generated photograph showing him beating up Santa Claus on Christmas.
The legislator, state Senate Majority Leader Chris Garten, commented on the response in a statement to Newsweek.
"With everything going on in the world, I struggle to understand why my evidently humorous post is considered news. The fake outrage online is a stark reminder of how overly sensitive society has become, and maybe some self-reflection is in order," he said.
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Why It Matters
Christmas is perhaps the most widely celebrated holiday in the United States, with millions of Americans across the country joining in on seasonal festivities. Politicians regularly use holidays to share a message to their constituents. Garten’s Christmas message received mixed reception on social media. Many critics found the post to be puzzling.
What To Know
Garten took to X on Thursday to share his Christmas message. The post included four AI-generated photos, including one in which Garten is seen kicking Santa Claus. In another, Garten is seen beating Santa Claus into the ground outside the Indiana State Capitol. In each photo, AI-generated people holding “Garten for Indiana” signs are seen in the background.
“When you find out the North Pole is trying to bring more bureaucratic overreach & unfunded mandates down the chimney disguised as ‘Christmas cheer.’ Not on my watch. We The People run Indiana, not the bureaucrats,” Garten captioned a photo.
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Garten responded to the chilly reception the post received in a follow-up.
“Lots of intolerance, swearing, and outrage on display over a few AI pics I had a blast designing with my kids," he wrote. "Some of you clowns are just insufferable. Hopefully your negativity stays in the comments and not directed at your families. Merry Christmas, snowflakes!”
The Indiana Democratic Party criticized the post, writing on X: “It’s pretty weird to step away from your children on Christmas morning to post AI slop of yourself beating up Santa. The Republicans running our state are not serious people. Hoosiers deserve better than this.”
Commentator Keith Olbermann wrote: “War on Christmas, Indiana GOP style.”
George Hornedo, a Democrat running for Congress in Indianapolis, wrote on X: “This is weird lol.”
Indiana’s legislative session began in December, when lawmakers sought to address plans to redistrict the state to create a more GOP-friendly map. Those efforts, however, failed as a majority of legislators were opposed.
What People Are Saying
Alexander Clarkson, a lecturer at King’s College London, on X: “Another datapoint for how the leadership of the American Right is now too very online in politically self-destructive ways that European observers struggle to grasp. MAGA elites are too weak to build something lasting but strong enough to cause lasting chaos.”
Democratic commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, on X: “These are the people who spent the last two decades hyperventilating about the left’s War on Christmas.”
Update 12/29/25, 10:19 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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