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By Jenna Sundel and Gabe Whisnant
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Tuesday Tuesday about AI-generated images depicting President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk working in factories that have gone viral on Chinese and American social media sites.
Why It Matters
The trend, spurred by the rapidly escalating tariff battle between the U.S. and China, was particularly popular on TikTok, where users shared AI memes of Trump, Vance and Musk working in a warehouse in an apparent mockery of Trump's effort to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
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What To Know
"Last week, Chinese officials were posting videos on social media sites depicting Trump, JD Vance, Elon Musk in AI-generated videos working in factories, putting together Nike shoes and iPhones and products like that," a reporter asked Leavitt on Tuesday. "Does the White House—have they seen these videos? Do you guys have. a response to that?"
Leavitt responded: "I have seen the videos. We're not sure who made the videos or if we can verify the authenticity. But whoever made it clearly does not see the potential of the American worker, the American workforce."
"The president believes in the American people and he knows that we have the best, not only consumer base in the world, but also the best workforce in the world and that's why he's so focused on bringing investments home and shoring up our critical supply chains and bolstering our manufacturing here as well," Leavitt added.
The U.S. most recently imposed a 145% tariff on most goods from China, though Trump administration officials have carved out exemptions for smartphones, computers and other electronics.
Trump paused reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world on Wednesday after several days of turbulence in the stock and bond markets. China was not included in the pause and Trump hiked tariffs on the U.S.'s third biggest trading partner that day to 125 percent.
The White House later said that figure did not include a separate 20 percent tariff China was already facing, bringing its total rate up to 145 percent.
Trump officials have also given mixed messaging on the electronics exemption, with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick saying tariffs on electronics could be announced in the coming months, while Trump said there was no exception.
"This is not a permanent sort of exemption," Lutnick said Sunday while appearing on ABC News' "This Week."
Leavitt also said 75 countries have contacted the Trump administration regarding the tariffs.
"There's a lot of work to do, we very much understand that, but we do believe that we can announce some deals soon," the press secretary said.
What People Are Saying
Leavitt said at a White House press conference on Tuesday: "The president believes in the American people, and he knows that we have the best**,** not only consumer base in the world, but also the best workforce in the world, and that's why he's so focused on being investments home, shoring up our supply chains and bolstering our manufacturing here as well."
What Happens Next
The administration has not announced which nations it has reached deals with yet. The tariffs on most Chinese imports remain in effect.
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