CNN anchors John Berman and Kaitlan Collins appeared to have trouble wrapping their brains around the Trump administration&#8217;s willingness to defend — and even embrace — a meme they described as &#8220;racist&#8221; without any apparent concern about the repercussions for doing so.
Berman raised the topic during a Wednesday conversation with Collins, noting that the meme in question — an AI-doctored video that featured House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) with a fake mustache and a sombrero — had been on full display at the White House briefing room.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins can’t believe the Trump admin is doubling down with memes and mariachi music in the WH briefing room:
“They simply don’t care about the criticism.&#8221;
Correct — and that&#8217;s exactly what’s driving the propaganda press insane. They&#8217;re powerless. <a href="https://t.co/hduEvgFT3q">pic.twitter.com/hduEvgFT3q</a>
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1973547503942508844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;So we played sound from Vice President Vance not just defending that AI racist video of Minority Leader Jeffries wearing a sombrero, but also, like celebrating that video, and it was playing on a loop in the briefing room today,&#8221; Berman said, turning to Collins: &#8220;What are you hearing from the inside about that?&#8221;
Collins set the scene for Berman, saying that in addition to the video being played on a loop, the mariachi music from the video had been piped through the room&#8217;s sound system so that everyone could hear it.
&#8220;It just kind of gives you a window, John, into how they&#8217;re dealing with this,&#8221; Collins continued. &#8220;And how they believe they have the upper hand when it comes to the messaging here and also kind of how things have changed from the first time Donald Trump was in office.&#8221;
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&#8220;I mean, there was a shutdown then, I remember all 35 days of it, as the president said at the beginning he&#8217;d be &#8216;proud to shut the government down,&#8217; and that it ended with him obviously not getting the money for his border wall,&#8221; she added. &#8220;This time, you know, there&#8217;s a moment here, they&#8217;re being heavily criticized over this — over these posts by the president — by Democrats, and instead of backing off or apologizing for it, they&#8217;re leaning into it. They&#8217;re playing the music over loudspeakers and on repeat inside the briefing room because they simply don&#8217;t care about that criticism.&#8221;
Vice President JD Vance, when asked about the memes, gave his word that the sombrero memes would stop if and when Jeffries helped put an end to the government shutdown, which was triggered on Tuesday when Democrats refused to vote for a stopgap funding measure unless they got certain concessions.

The 2024 BAFTA NYC Tea Party Presented By Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, And FIJI Water Sponsored By Britbox, Heineken, Taittinger And The Pierre – Arrivals

CNN Is Panicking About White House Mariachi Memes

Chuck Schumer

Donald Trump

Hakeem Jeffries

Kaitlan Collins

Memes

Politics

Vice President JD Vance gave his word on Wednesday that memes mocking House and Senate Minority Leaders Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would stop if Jeffries would help end the ongoing government shutdown.
Vance stepped into the White House briefing room to address the press corps and offered his &#8220;solemn promise&#8221; to put an end to the memes, provided Jeffries helped steer his party toward a compromise.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 LMFAO! JD Vance just responded to Hakeem Jeffries being offended by Trump&#8217;s memes
&#8220;I will tell Hakeem Jeffries right now, I make a solemn promise to you, that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes WILL stop!&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve talked to the President about that.&#8221; 🤣 <a href="https://t.co/DkJy5t5ooe">pic.twitter.com/DkJy5t5ooe</a>
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1973443709439189176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Vance explained that the memes — which showed Jeffries with a fake mustache and sombrero and Schumer complaining about the Democratic Party — were made in an effort to &#8220;poke fun at the absurdity&#8221; of some of the demands being made by Democrats with regard to any agreement to fund the government going forward.
&#8220;I will tell Hakeem Jeffries right now, I make a solemn promise to you, that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop!&#8221; Vance added, prompting laughter around the briefing room. &#8220;And I&#8217;ve talked to the President of the United States about that.&#8221;
Vance went on to say that, in all seriousness, if there were any Senate Democrats who wanted to negotiate a deal to reopen the government, he would be glad to take part.
The memes began with one video posted to President Trump&#8217;s account on X and Truth Social:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/JzQYLShOCt">pic.twitter.com/JzQYLShOCt</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1972822596397003159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
When Jeffries responded by complaining about the &#8220;racist&#8221; nature of the meme. &#8220;The next time you have something to say about me, don’t cop out through a racist and fake AI video! When I’m back in the Oval Office, say it to my face!&#8221; he demanded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Hakeem Jeffries is very upset about Trump’s video depicting him with a mustache and a sombrero: “The next time you have something to say about me, don’t cop out through a racist and fake AI video! When I’m back in the Oval Office, say it to my face!”
😂<a href="https://t.co/aYwRrWtM9z">pic.twitter.com/aYwRrWtM9z</a>
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) <a href="https://twitter.com/theblaze/status/1973043373956296796?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Jeffries continued to complain about the meme during an appearance on MSNBC with host Lawrence O&#8217;Donnell, and Trump responded with a meme made from a clip of that interview.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/2yyuRkm9r8">pic.twitter.com/2yyuRkm9r8</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1973218518893207825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Senate Republicans Advance Trump Tax Bill On Crucial Test Vote

‘A Solemn Promise’: Vance Swears Sombrero Memes Will Stop If Hakeem Jeffries Helps End Shutdown

'A Solemn Promise': Vance Swears Sombrero Memes Will Stop If Hakeem Jeffries Helps End Shutdown

Government Shutdown

JD Vance

Media

The official account of California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom&#8217;s press office posted a vile meme on social media depicting White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller walking President Donald Trump as a dog on a leash.
The press office for California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom posted a vile meme portraying White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller walking President Donald Trump as a dog on a leash.
In all caps, the account wrote: “TIME FOR YOUR DAILY WALK, DONALD! (NO STAIRS),” a flourish echoing Trump’s own style that Newsom has recently adopted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
TIME FOR YOUR DAILY WALK, DONALD! (NO STAIRS) <a href="https://t.co/I3tLw7fhyA">pic.twitter.com/I3tLw7fhyA</a>
&mdash; Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovPressOffice/status/1973185102499946916?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The cartoon also appealed to antisemitic tropes, enlarging Miller’s nose in the caricature style long used by Jew-haters.
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The meme was also similar to an infamous 2019 cartoon published in The New York Times&#8217; international edition, which depicted a guide dog with the face of Benjamin Netanyahu — wearing a collar with a Star of David hanging from it — leading a blind, overweight Donald Trump, who was wearing dark glasses and a black yarmulke.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Liberalism = 21st century Reich
Hitler and Goebbles used propaganda pre-WW2 very successfully. NYTimes, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. The left is trying to normalize anti-semitism again:
New York Times Posts then Deletes ‘Anti-Semitic’ Cartoon Depicting Trump, Netanyahu <a href="https://t.co/nByctsQnrM">pic.twitter.com/nByctsQnrM</a>
&mdash; Տᗩᑎᗪᖇᗩ🎗️ (@SandraXFreedom) <a href="https://twitter.com/SandraXFreedom/status/1122552143469326337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Newsom&#8217;s office has previously targeted Miller&#8217;s hard-line positions on immigration. In July, responding to a ruling from a Biden-appointed judge involving immigration enforcement in the Central District of California (Los Angeles area), Miller wrote on X: “The ruling has just been issued. A communist judge in LA has ordered ICE to report directly to her and radical left NGOs — not the president. This is another act of insurrection against the United States and its sovereign people.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The ruling has just been issued. A communist judge in LA has ordered ICE to report directly to her and radical left NGOs — not the president. This is another act of insurrection against the United States and its sovereign people. <a href="https://t.co/pkEjl7lEP4">https://t.co/pkEjl7lEP4</a>
&mdash; Stephen Miller (@StephenM) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenM/status/1943855465349198026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Newsom press office account on X responded, “This fascist cuck in DC continues his assault on democracy and the Constitution, and his attempt to replace the sovereignty of the people with autocracy. Sorry the Constitution hurt your feelings, Stephen. Cry harder.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This fascist cuck in DC continues his assault on democracy and the Constitution, and his attempt to replace the sovereignty of the people with autocracy.
Sorry the Constitution hurt your feelings, Stephen.
Cry harder. <a href="https://t.co/3a4pvYftxb">https://t.co/3a4pvYftxb</a>
&mdash; Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovPressOffice/status/1943871761658835148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In June 2025, the federal government, via ICE and other agencies, started launching patrols in Los Angeles. On July 11, 2025, Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong <a href="https://kesq.com/news/california/2025/07/14/feds-seek-stay-of-la-judges-ruling-on-immigration-raids/">issued</a> a temporary restraining order barring federal agents from conducting detentions unless they had “reasonable suspicion” that the person was unlawfully present in the country. The Trump administration sought a stay of the order, which Frimpong denied, prompting the case to be taken up by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. On August 1, the court rejected the emergency motion to stay the order.

MixCollage-01-Oct-2025-10-25-AM-9961

Gavin Newsom Slammed After Team Mocks Trump And Stephen Miller With Antisemitic Imagery

antisemitism

Cartoon

Gavin Newsom

Immigration

Stephen Miller

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attempted to run defense for embattled late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, but newly vindicated meme-maker Douglass Mackey got the last laugh.
Clinton took to X to voice her opinion, claiming that she would never attempt to silence a comedian who said something she didn’t like or found to be “offensive.” She also linked to a longer conversation she’d had on the topic with Columbia University Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo for The New Yorker.
“Jimmy Kimmel and other late-night comedians have certainly said things about me that I found offensive, even outrageous,” Clinton said. “It never crossed my mind to call up the networks and say, ‘Hey, get rid of this guy.’ Because that’s not how America works.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Jimmy Kimmel and other late-night comedians have certainly said things about me that I found offensive, even outrageous.
It never crossed my mind to call up the networks and say, &#8220;Hey, get rid of this guy.&#8221; Because that&#8217;s not how America works.
More in my conversation…
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) <a href="https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/1969790254115922137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But Mackey, who ultimately served time in prison for a 2016 meme — encouraging people to “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” and “Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925” — pushed back on the twice-failed presidential candidate.
“Madame Secretary: It crossed your mind to call up Sen. Klobuchar, the FBI and the DOJ and have me arrested for a humorous meme about your campaign,” Mackey posted in response to Clinton. “You then celebrated my unlawful and wrongful conviction, which was later overturned by a federal appeals court. Sit down.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Madame Secretary:
It crossed your mind to call up Sen. Klobuchar, the FBI and the DOJ and have me arrested for a humorous meme about your campaign.
You then celebrated my unlawful and wrongful conviction, which was later overturned by a federal appeals court.
Sit down. <a href="https://t.co/KtVM7Dp2hV">https://t.co/KtVM7Dp2hV</a>
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1969882718369694183?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Mackey was not the only one to push back on Clinton’s claim, though. When one person asked @Grok to weigh in on whether or not Clinton had ever attempted to “get rid of” certain types of speech, even the X AI bot had something to say.
“Yes, Hillary Clinton has called for US government action on misinformation. For instance, in 2024 she suggested civil or criminal charges for Americans spreading propaganda (MSNBC interview). In 2021, she urged governments to ‘rein in’ social media disinformation (Chatham House talk). In 2016, she said fake news must be addressed quickly by leaders (Capitol Hill speech). Sources: Yahoo, Newsweek, NPR,” the response read.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Yes, Hillary Clinton has called for US government action on misinformation. For instance, in 2024 she suggested civil or criminal charges for Americans spreading propaganda (MSNBC interview). In 2021, she urged governments to &#8220;rein in&#8221; social media disinformation (Chatham House…
— Grok (@grok) <a href="https://twitter.com/grok/status/1970195858525425857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A number of others also pointed out that Clinton, despite her declared interest in free speech, had turned off the replies to her post.

Former Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton’s Portrait Unveiled At The State Department

Conservative Influencer Targeted By Biden Admin Blasts Hillary Clinton After She Defends Kimmel

General

Hillary Clinton

Jimmy Kimmel

Lawfare

On Saturday, veteran football commentator Lee Corso made his 430th and final “headgear pick” on ESPN’s College GameDay.
It’s been 38 years since Corso helped launch the flagship college football broadcast, and 29 years since he first <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/lee-corsos-last-show-beloved-member-of-college-gameday-dons-ohio-state-headgear-one-final-time-in-send-off/">donned a mascot head</a> to lock in a pick — picks that were right <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/46112766/lee-corso-picks-ohio-state-final-gameday-appearance">more often than not</a>.
His first-ever headgear pick was for THE Ohio State, so it was only fitting that, for his last prediction, he donned the head of Brutus Buckeye one final time.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;Give me my first love!&#8221;
Lee Corso&#8217;s first-ever headgear pick belonged to Brutus and the Buckeyes and it&#8217;s only fitting that his last one is the same ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/A8Fgj8b3TR">pic.twitter.com/A8Fgj8b3TR</a>
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollegeGameDay/status/1961822393732673601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
Standing in the way of Corso&#8217;s pick were the Texas Longhorns, coming into Columbus behind Arch Manning  for the first road start of his career.
It had been 2,084 days since Arch’s uncle, Eli, played his last game for the New York Giants, bringing to a temporary pause the family legacy Peyton Manning began with the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. With a dynastic name on his shoulders and a <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/08/30/sports/arch-mannings-6-8-million-nil-value-revealed-as-texas-qb-takes-center-stage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$6.8 million NIL valuation</a> behind him, Arch Manning took the field in Columbus ready to make Lee Corso regret his last-ever headgear pick.
He did not succeed.
Manning, considered a strong contender for the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and a Heisman Trophy favorite, completed just 17 of 30 passes for a total of 170 yards. He threw for one late touchdown, and threw one crushing interception.
It was widely remarked on X and in group chats across the country that Manning threw fewer touchdowns than commercials he appeared in Saturday — for Raising Cane&#8217;s, the athleisure brand Vuori, and, for some reason, Warby Parker.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Arch Manning has more commercials than completions <a href="https://t.co/VdBjhErkBt">pic.twitter.com/VdBjhErkBt</a>
— Hard Rock Bet (@HardRockBet) <a href="https://twitter.com/HardRockBet/status/1961842339766308979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Haters will say that Arch’s performance on Saturday proves that he’s nothing but a nepo baby, and a disappointing one at that. They’ll say the only thing he inherited from his uncles is a penchant for selling car insurance and sandwiches. They’ll say that he should start preparing for a postgrad career at his dad’s real estate firm rather than in the NFL.
But I’m not a hater. It’s a long season, and Arch’s disastrous debut notwithstanding, he’s still a promising player who will likely fare better down the line when he’s not playing the reigning college football champions on their home turf.
On the other hand…I am a bit of a hater. And the tweets dunking on the Manning scion are simply too good not to share.
So, here are some of the best.
<h3>The name is Rooski. Fumblerooski.</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“Arch it’s 4th down! We need you to make a play!” <a href="https://t.co/vGQ8ACCK98">pic.twitter.com/vGQ8ACCK98</a>
— Old Row Sports (@OldRowSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/OldRowSports/status/1961856811218161671?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
<h3>It was fun while it lasted.</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/MFJtXLgxuv">pic.twitter.com/MFJtXLgxuv</a>
— Robert Behrens (@rcb05) <a href="https://twitter.com/rcb05/status/1961865346488377587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Maybe his real gift is acting?</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Watching Arch Manning reveal himself as nepo Jeff Driskel on national TV only for Fox to cut to a commercial with him every thirty seconds is fucking hysterical
— Barstool SEC (@SECBarstool) <a href="https://twitter.com/SECBarstool/status/1961863526928261628?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Not even the Failing New York Times is impressed.</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Reviewing Arch Manning&#8217;s performance on the day.
Great in the Warby Parker ad.
Decent in Vuori and Raising Cane&#8217;s.
Football game against Ohio State? &#8230; Not great!<a href="https://t.co/OJHFUwqrmE">https://t.co/OJHFUwqrmE</a>
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) <a href="https://twitter.com/slmandel/status/1961887481554739629?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
<h3> Many people are saying!</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“Arch Manning for Heisman” <a href="https://t.co/3I7Gasr0vG">pic.twitter.com/3I7Gasr0vG</a>
— Transfer Portal (@NCAAPortal) <a href="https://twitter.com/NCAAPortal/status/1961864255394684935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
<h3>I think I&#8217;ll just stay here and drink.</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Arch Manning looks less comfortable than Luke Bryan trying to name 3 Merle Haggard songs without using Google.
— NotKennyRogers (@NotKennyRogers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NotKennyRogers/status/1961845540292804966?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3></h3>
<h3>This one&#8217;s just mean.</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Ohio State defense has Arch Manning like this rn <a href="https://t.co/aHzQWP16dY">pic.twitter.com/aHzQWP16dY</a>
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) <a href="https://twitter.com/Three_Cone/status/1961863172949725324?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3></h3>
<h3>No disrespect to good ol&#8217; WCSU.</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Arch Manning when he isn’t playing West Copperfield State University <a href="https://t.co/OYVedSuor4">pic.twitter.com/OYVedSuor4</a>
— 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣 ✌🏽 (@BELIEVEBRAND0N) <a href="https://twitter.com/BELIEVEBRAND0N/status/1961841077754712198?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Would you call John Quincy Adams a nepo baby?!</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Arch Manning if Peyton and Eli weren’t his uncles 
<a href="https://t.co/i6y4FDfDUs">pic.twitter.com/i6y4FDfDUs</a>
— Le5-6 (@deepyy_) <a href="https://twitter.com/deepyy_/status/1961827027012530329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Arch!</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Arch Manning in the Manning family <a href="https://t.co/Wm4KLMICR5">pic.twitter.com/Wm4KLMICR5</a>
— Wilson F. Ball, CFB Analyst (@WillyFoosball) <a href="https://twitter.com/WillyFoosball/status/1961843314606428634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Shouts out to our boy Rob Schneider (real ones get it).</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Arch in the Manning family <a href="https://t.co/92BNebqB78">pic.twitter.com/92BNebqB78</a>
— Erik Andersen (@erikandersennn) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikandersennn/status/1961833662628188641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Ask not what your quartahback can do for you!</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
JFK if Arch Manning was the shooter <a href="https://t.co/fXfAJdDd3h">pic.twitter.com/fXfAJdDd3h</a>
— Joseph 🕊️ (@CaudilloXIV) <a href="https://twitter.com/CaudilloXIV/status/1961864035311214856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
<h3>Don’t worry, Arch — we’re laughing with you.</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Me liking all the Arch Manning memes <a href="https://t.co/SE3YXky9Bd">pic.twitter.com/SE3YXky9Bd</a>
— Three Year Letterman (@3YearLetterman) <a href="https://twitter.com/3YearLetterman/status/1961858119694205304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Texas v Ohio State

All The Best Tweets About Arch Manning’s Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Game

College Football

ESPN

Ohio State University

Twitter

University of Texas

A Trump supporter who was targeted by the Biden Justice Department for posting satirical memes mocking Hillary Clinton supporters during the 2016 election was recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-supporter-gets-case-tossed-after-biden-doj-was-ready-to-imprison-him-for-memes?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Supporter+Gets+Case+Tossed+After+Biden+DOJ+Was+Ready+To+Imprison+Him+For+Memes">vindicated in court.</a>  Now, he plans to fight back by suing the feds.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-doj-trying-to-lock-up-a-pro-trump-meme-maker-for-ten-years-heres-what-you-need-to-know">Douglass Mackey</a>, who was charged by the Biden DOJ for election interference some four years after posting the memes in question, faced a stunning 10 years behind bars. After the Justice Department secured a conviction in New York City, Mackey was sentenced to seven months behind bars in 2023, but the sentence was delayed by an appeals court. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed Mackey’s conviction and directed a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal.
<div id="attachment_945037" style="width: 528px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-945037" class="wp-image-945037 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-518x576.png" alt="" width="518" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-518x576.png 518w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-270x300.png 270w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-768x855.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM.png 1170w" sizes=" (max-width: 518px) 100vw, 518px" />A meme posted by Mackey the Biden DOJ zeroed-in on</div>
Speaking to The Daily Wire on Thursday, Mackey said he plans to file a civil lawsuit against the Department of Justice for political weaponization and misconduct, and suggested he&#8217;ll be seeking damages totaling at least a million dollars.
“As the Circuit Court ruled, this case was brought without sufficient evidence,&#8221; Mackey said. &#8220;They didn&#8217;t have any evidence of an actual conspiracy, and that&#8217;s just the first problem with the case — there are multiple that the court didn&#8217;t even bother ruling on because they just looked and said there&#8217;s no evidence. Based on that, we have to assume that they brought this case for political reasons, because why else would you bring this case?&#8221;
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s egregious,&#8221; Mackey continued. &#8220;I think that it&#8217;s politicized weaponization and I think it&#8217;s misconduct.&#8221;
&#8220;The damages are a lot,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I mean, if we&#8217;re talking about just purely legal fees, we&#8217;re talking 1 million to $1.5 million that I had to raise. And a lot of [that] I spent a lot of my own money.”
Though Mackey was ultimately acquitted, the legal saga consumed more than four years of his life, which he said took a toll on him, his family, and friends. 
&#8220;It was a very lonely battle, because this was kind of a low point for President Trump and his supporters,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We were being persecuted, chased around, hounded. President Trump was actually indicted for the first time during the trial. And especially the trial being in Brooklyn, there&#8217;s not a lot of love for Trump supporters. It was a very lonely fight.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_498101" style="width: 594px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-498101" class="wp-image-498101 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/unnamed-1.png" alt="Douglass Mackey" width="584" height="381" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/unnamed-1.png 584w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/unnamed-1-300x196.png 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px" />Courtesy of James Lawrence</div>
As for his family, Mackey told The Daily Wire his wife was pregnant during the trial and actually had an emergency c-section while he was in New York City being sentenced.
&#8220;It&#8217;s very difficult, especially for my wife,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We got married during the case and had a child because she said, &#8216;Look, we can&#8217;t wait forever, who knows how long this thing&#8217;s gonna go on for?&#8217; That was a blessing, but very, very difficult as you can imagine. &#8230; My wife had to do an emergency c-section while I was in New York getting sentenced for this case in 2023.&#8221;
&#8220;My family and friends, a lot of them stuck around and really were very strong supporters,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;But as you can imagine, a lot of people when you get arrested and this is all over the news, they&#8217;re thinking, well, there must be some great crime here. But once everybody actually looked at the facts of the case &#8212; it didn&#8217;t matter if they liked Donald Trump or not — they realized that this case was complete nonsense. So it sort of was lonely at first, then everybody rallied around — we had a good fighting spirit.&#8221;
Mackey expressed tremendous gratitude for his supporters and noted that they were able to raise over seven figures for legal fees, but added, &#8220;we owe a lot of money still, too.&#8221;
Mackey also explained that every penny of the fundraised money was spent on legal fees, since he was fortunately self-employed and able to support his family during the legal battle. That reality is not always the case for individuals who&#8217;ve been demonized in the media.
The prospects of a good outcome with the lawsuit seem likely. President Donald Trump has cited Mackey&#8217;s case as an example of political persecution, and a White House policy adviser referenced the prosecution when discussing Trump’s executive order to end the weaponization of the federal government. Moreover, the appeals court roundly rejected the government&#8217;s arguments. 
“I didn&#8217;t expect that it would be such a resounding victory,&#8221; Mackey said of the court&#8217;s ruling. &#8220;It&#8217;s extremely rare for a case, number one, to be overturned on appeal. Number two, it&#8217;s extremely rare for the appeals court to actually overrule the jury and say, &#8216;No, the verdict was wrong, you have to enter a judgment of acquittal.&#8217; That&#8217;s extremely rare, and just goes to show how weak and non-existent the government&#8217;s case against me was.”
Mackey ended his interview with The Daily Wire by thanking his supporters, family, and friends. If supporters would like to chip in toward his lawsuit against the government, they can visit <a href="https://www.memedefensefund.com">MemeDefenseFund.com</a>, he said.
Mackey also called attention to other victims of government weaponization and specifically highlighted the work of <a href="https://patriotfreedomproject.com/board-member/cynthia-hughes/">Cynthia Hughes at Patriot Freedom Project</a> for helping such victims.

Douglass Mackey

The Biden DOJ Tried To Imprison A Trump Supporter Over Memes. Now, He’s Fighting Back.

INTERVIEW: Trump Supporter The Biden DOJ Tried To Imprison Over Memes Is Fighting Back

Biden Admin

Federal agents are under attack as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement operations, a Trump supporter targeted by the Biden administration scores a major win for free speech, and the race to develop advanced artificial intelligence is heating up.
It’s Friday, July 11, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="ICE Agents Come Under Fire &amp; Meme-Maker Walks Free" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cnY2qKBbuO0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ice-agents-come-under-fire-meme-maker-walks-free-7-11-25/id1576594336?i=1000716804397" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>Anti-ICE Violence</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-945717" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-1.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Topline: ICE agents are under attack across the United States as they carry out President Donald Trump&#8217;s deportation agenda. The rise in violence has sparked calls to tone down the rhetoric as political battles rage over immigration.
In Southern California on Thursday, feds conducted immigration raids at two Glass House Farms, a state-licensed marijuana facility that is allegedly employing illegal immigrants, including children. After getting word of the immigration operations at a cannabis farm in Camarillo, approximately 60 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, around 500 protesters arrived to confront federal authorities. The standoff quickly turned violent as federal agents attempted to disperse the crowd with smoke canisters, and news helicopter video captured the moment when one man appeared to fire a handgun at authorities.
This week, at an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas, a group of people clad in black, military-style clothes used fireworks to lure out ICE officers while a gunman waited in the woods. One ICE agent was shot in the neck. He’s thankfully expected to recover. Ten people linked to the attack have been <a href="https://x.com/RochelleAz/status/1942950921719394470">charged</a> with attempted murder.  
In Oregon, three more people are facing charges after they allegedly assaulted officers at an ICE facility in Portland. The officers were kicked, punched, and attacked with an &#8220;incendiary device.” In McAllen, Texas, two police officers and a Border Patrol agent were hospitalized after a gunman fired dozens of rounds into a Border Patrol facility. And also this week in San Francisco, anti-ICE protesters attacked ICE agents in an apparent attempt to stop their black van from leaving the area.
“The attack on ICE officers, you&#8217;ve covered it many times, is up nearly 700 percent now,” Border Czar Tom Homan <a href="https://grabien.com/story?id=535014">told</a> Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer. “The rhetoric against the men and women of ICE is skyrocketing, especially by members of Congress. We have senators, we have congresspeople that compare ICE to the Nazis, compare ICE to racists, and it just continues. So the public thinks, well, if a member of Congress can attack ICE, why can&#8217;t we?&#8221;
“Donald Trump&#8217;s modern day is scooping folks up off the streets,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz <a href="https://x.com/AlphaNewsMN/status/1923906506472243685">said</a>. “They&#8217;re in unmarked vans wearing masks being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons, no chance to mount a defense, not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye, just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans, and disappeared.”
Some say this radical rhetoric is actually part of a larger strategy by the Democrats to provoke ICE and cut down support for Trump’s most popular issue. 
“What they’re betting, and if you believe that, the idea of trying to provoke an overreaction on the part of ICE is part of the strategy,” RealClearPolitics Chief Content Officer Andrew Walworth <a href="https://youtu.be/bZghs7pNFf4?t=383">said</a>.
The attacks may be having an effect — Trump’s overall approval on immigration appears to be <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval_immigration-8659.html">falling</a>.
&nbsp;
<h2>Doug Mackey</h2>
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-945713" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-2.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: A Trump supporter who was targeted by the Biden DOJ over memes he posted online had his case tossed by an appeals court, scoring a major victory for free speech. 
Douglass Mackey had a popular pro-Trump account on Twitter, now called X, during the 2016 election. He went by the alias Ricky Vaughn, inspired by Charlie Sheen’s character in Major League. Just days after Joe Biden took office in 2021, Mackey was arrested and he was prosecuted by the Justice Department over memes he posted four years prior. One of the memes in question mocked Hillary Clinton supporters and said they could text their vote and avoid the polls. Similar jokes were made online about Trump supporters. 
The DOJ claimed this was a mass conspiracy, voter suppression, and election interference. Mackey was facing 10 years in prison. He was eventually convicted in NYC and sentenced to seven months behind bars. He was able to avoid serving jail time as he appealed the case, and on Wednesday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed Mackey’s conviction and directed a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal.
“I didn&#8217;t expect that it would be such a resounding victory,” Mackey told The Daily Wire. “It&#8217;s extremely rare for a case, number one, to be overturned on appeal. Number two, it&#8217;s extremely rare for the Circuit court, the appeals court, to actually overrule the jury and say, no, the verdict was wrong, you have to enter a judgment of acquittal. [It] just goes to show how weak and non-existent the government&#8217;s case against me was.”
Though Mackey was ultimately acquitted, this legal saga was more than four years of his life, which really took a toll on his family and friends. Mackey told The Daily Wire his wife was pregnant during the trial and she actually had an emergency C-section while Mackey was in New York being sentenced. On the financial side, Mackey said his legal fees totaled north of a million dollars. Moving forward, Mackey plans to file a civil lawsuit against the DOJ. 
“As the Circuit Court ruled, this case was brought without sufficient evidence,” Mackey said. “So based on that, we have to assume that they brought this case for political reasons, because why else would you bring this case? So I think it&#8217;s egregious. I think that it&#8217;s weaponization and politicized justice and I think it&#8217;s misconduct.”
&nbsp;
<h2>AI Arms Race </h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-945715" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-3-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-3-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.11.25-Seg-Head-3.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The race to develop advanced artificial intelligence is heating up, and some tech giants are sparing no expense. Earlier this week, Meta paid $200 million to poach one of Apple’s leading AI developers for its new &#8220;Superintelligence Lab.&#8221; Meanwhile, deep fakes are becoming a major security issue.
Investment in artificial intelligence has been growing exponentially in the last decade. According to an <a href="https://edgedelta.com/company/blog/ai-investment-statistics">analysis</a> by Stanford University, nearly a trillion dollars was poured into developing tools like ChatGPT between 2013 and 2022. Many of these AI tools have been wildly successful and have been incorporated into all parts of our daily lives: individualized search and chat tools, big data analysis that quickly sequence genomes and help doctors diagnose diseases, large language models that can quickly and accurately translate text and audio into different languages &#8211; the list goes on. In 2025, global investment in AI is expected to reach $200 billion per year.
Despite overseas efforts to catch up, U.S. companies currently lead the field. There are some prominent newcomers such as OpenAI and Anthropic, but all of the Big Tech names that most people would recognize, like Amazon, Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple have invested heavily in artificial intelligence. 
Apple’s AI offerings have generally underperformed relative to its competitors — there are rumors that they might outsource the integration of LLM features into Siri to other firms. However, Apple has a lot of experience building smartphones and personal computers, and much of their research has been focused on making smaller AI models that could be built into their hardware instead of relying on a connection to external servers. 
Those efforts appear to have caught Mark Zuckerberg’s attention, and he is reportedly now trying to poach their top talent with very lucrative contracts. On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Ruoming Pang, the head developer of Apple’s AI models, was leaving the company to join Meta for a cool <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/07/meta-reportedly-recruits-apples-head-of-ai-models/">$200 million</a>. According to industry scuttlebutt, he may be just the first of many to jump ship from Apple  – Sam Altman of OpenAI says his employees have received similar offers.
“[Meta] started making these giant offers to people on our team,” Altman <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZUG0pr5hBo">said</a>. “100 million dollar signing bonuses… so far none of my top employees have decided to take them up on it.”
Meanwhile: In May, “unknown actors” got ahold of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’ contact list and posed as her to contact senators, congressmen, and prominent businessmen. That same month, the FBI issued a PSA warning that “if you receive a message claiming to be from a senior US official, do not assume it is authentic.”
A similar scheme was attempted in June; a cable from the State Department revealed that at least five people received text and voice messages imitating Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Rubio impersonator created a Signal account using an official-sounding email address as his display name and reached out to at least five people, including members of Congress and foreign dignitaries. An investigation is ongoing in both cases. However, because of how ubiquitous AI voice cloning has become, it could be hard to pin down a suspect.
“Deep fake audio is extremely simple to produce,” Leah Siskind, an AI Research Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, told The Daily Wire. “Typically it only requires about 30 seconds of recorded audio and you can use tools that are online, that are free, that are extremely user friendly. You don’t need much technical knowledge to learn how to produce these audio fakes, and what they’ll do is they’ll use AI to train to train on, they’ll look for patterns in your accent, your tone, your pitch, your breathing patterns, all within that 30 second audio clip, and from that they’ll be able to produce a very realistic mimic of your voice.”

MRN 7.11.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: Anti-ICE Violence, Meme Madness, And What’s Next In The AI Arms Race

Artificial Intelligence

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Morning Wire

The man behind a popular pro-Trump X account effectively had his conviction tossed on Wednesday, after the Biden-era <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a> was ready to imprison him for memes that mocked Hillary Clinton voters during the 2016 presidential election.
Douglass Mackey, who was charged by the Biden DOJ some four years after posting the memes in question, was facing a stunning 10 years behind bars. After the DOJ secured a conviction, Mackey was sentenced to seven months behind bars in 2023, but the sentence was delayed by an appeals court.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed Mackey’s conviction and directed a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
DOUG MACKEY WINS !! MEME MAGIC HAS EMERGED COMPLETELY VICTORIOUS !! <a href="https://t.co/hyJFw5rQxe">pic.twitter.com/hyJFw5rQxe</a>
— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBenzCyber/status/1942949310380880156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out my conviction for lack of evidence the case has been remanded to the district court with orders to immediately dismiss,&#8221; Mackey posted to X. &#8220;Hallelujah!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: THE SECOND CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS HAS THROWN OUT MY CONVICTION FOR LACK OF EVIDENCE
THE CASE HAS BEEN REMANDED TO THE DISTRICT COURT WITH ORDERS TO IMMEDIATELY DISMISS
HALLELUJAH!
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1942947069745934603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
As reported by The Daily Wire, Mackey, who went by the Twitter (now X) alias Ricky Vaughn, was charged about a week after President Joe Biden took office — some four years after the memes were posted. While the DOJ claimed Mackey conspired to “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate” people from exercising their constitutional right to vote, his legal team, other legal minds, and many politicos said the memes were obviously protected free speech.
The meme the prosecution zeroed in on was published on November 1, 2016. It shows a woman holding an “African Americans for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hillary-clinton-lands-professor-and-presidential-fellow-gig-at-columbia-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Hillary</a>” sign with overlaid text reading, “Avoid the line. Vote from home. Text ‘Hillary’ to 55925.”
<div id="attachment_945037" style="width: 528px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-945037" class="wp-image-945037 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-518x576.png" alt="" width="518" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-518x576.png 518w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-270x300.png 270w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-768x855.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM.png 1170w" sizes=" (max-width: 518px) 100vw, 518px" />Screenshot: Twitter</div>
Mackey has the support of President Donald Trump, and others in his orbit, including Donald Trump Jr., but said after Trump won the 2024 election that he would not ask Trump for a pardon, since he was anticipating a good result on appeal.
“Since so many are asking, my team and I have not asked President Trump for a pardon at this time as we are hoping for a favorable, precedent-setting ruling in the 2nd Circuit that would prevent the DOJ from politically weaponizing the law,” he said at the time. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Since so many are asking, my team and I have not asked President Trump for a pardon at this time as we are hoping for a favorable, precedent-setting ruling in the 2nd Circuit that would prevent the DOJ from politically weaponizing the law.
Thank you everybody for your support!
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1881538008698204562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
Mackey also posted on X, &#8220;Now we sue,&#8221; suggesting a coming suit against the federal government.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Now we sue
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1942947698631442630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-doj-trying-to-lock-up-a-pro-trump-meme-maker-for-ten-years-heres-what-you-need-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden DOJ Trying To Lock Up A Pro-Trump Meme Maker For Ten Years. Here’s What You Need To Know.</a>

Trump Supporter Gets Case Tossed After Biden DOJ Was Ready To Imprison Him For Memes

Trump Supporter Just Got Case Tossed After Biden DOJ Was Ready To Imprison Him For Memes

Department of Justice

A federal court on Monday halted the prison sentence for Douglas Mackey, who was convicted earlier this year of election interference for posting memes that <a href="https://www.memedefensefund.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mocked</a> Hillary Clinton voters to cast their ballot via text during the 2016 presidential election.
Mackey was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-supporter-douglass-mackey-sentenced-to-7-months-in-prison-over-voting-memes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> of a &#8220;scheme to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote&#8221; after a Twitter account he ran under the handle &#8220;Ricky Vaughn&#8221; posted memes in the lead-up to the election. In October, Judge Ann M. Donnelly of Federal District Court in Brooklyn sentenced Mackey to 7 months in prison, a $15,000 fine, and two years probation.
However, Judge Omar Williams of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reportedly overruled the appellate court in granting a motion for bond pending appeal, according to Mackey.
&#8220;This ruling is huge because it means that the appeals court decided that my appeal presents &#8216;substantial&#8217; and &#8216;debatable&#8217; issues of law that, if resolved in my favor, will result in my conviction being vacated,&#8221; Mackey <a href="https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1731775057184100848" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;The prosecution, on the other hand, argued that my appeal was frivolous and that this was a typical election crime case like any other in U.S. history. This is a very encouraging step towards vindication.&#8221;
Mackey was charged one week after President Joe Biden assumed office and roughly four years after the 2016 election. The Justice Department claimed that Mackey had conspired to &#8220;injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate&#8221; people from exercising their right to vote. Prosecutors said that he and others had &#8220;intended variously to provoke, mislead, and, in some cases, deceive voters in the 2016 presidential election&#8221; with their posts.
The Justice Department said that Mackey had worked with other influential Twitter users between September 2016 and November 2016 to &#8220;disseminate fraudulent messages&#8221; which persuaded voters for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to cast their ballots via phone or social media.
One image showed a black woman standing in front of an &#8220;African Americans for Hillary&#8221; sign and said, &#8220;Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,&#8221; and &#8220;Text &#8216;Hillary&#8217; to 59925.&#8221;
According to the government, some 4,900 people texted the number, but it&#8217;s unclear how many people, if anyone, fell for the meme and did not cast the vote they intended to cast; or were merely participating in the joke.
Hillary Clinton <a href="https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-prison-sentence-of-douglass-mackey-stayed-by-federal-court-pending-appeal?utm_campaign=64506" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> celebrated the arrest, saying Mackey&#8217;s meme went &#8220;from what you would consider free speech &#8230; to running a very deliberate effort to mislead people about where and how to vote. So it went from speech to action meant to subvert the election because thousands of people who they targeted through their algorithms, &#8216;oh I could text my vote for Hillary Clinton.'&#8221;
Mackey said if he loses the appeal in the Second Circuit, he intends to take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report.

Douglas Mackey’s Meme-Related Prison Sentence Halted By Federal Court

Douglas Mackey's Meme-Related Prison Sentence Halted By Federal Court

2016 Election

Twitter erupted Sunday afternoon after left-wing comedian Kathy Griffin was suspended for violating the platform&#8217;s terms of service about impersonating other people.
New Twitter CEO Elon Musk warned that moving forward, accounts would be permanently banned without warning if they attempted to impersonate other accounts.
“Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” Musk tweeted. “Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning.”
“This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue,” Musk continued. “Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark.”
Griffin’s account was banned after she impersonated Musk by changing her profile photo to his photo and her user name to “Elon Musk,” even though her handle remained “@kathygriffin.”
Memes quickly flooded the internet mocking Griffin, 62, with many using her highly controversial photo shoot when she held a fake, severed head of then-President Donald Trump for the camera.
Conservative actor James Woods posted a meme to Twitter showing Musk holding Griffin&#8217;s head.
&#8220;In context maybe the greatest meme ever,&#8221; Woods tweeted.
https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1589482286520889344
Other notable memes and reactions included:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Someone needs to photoshop this with Elon and Kathy Griffin. <a href="https://t.co/oieCTVv0ac">pic.twitter.com/oieCTVv0ac</a>
&mdash; James Morrow (@pwafork) <a href="https://twitter.com/pwafork/status/1589547466160209920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Got em! <a href="https://t.co/WBn0vYVxYb">pic.twitter.com/WBn0vYVxYb</a>
&mdash; Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1589458915301130241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I must admit, I never thought Kathy Griffin would be the cause that finally rallied the Twitter elite back to the cause of free speech. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/freekathygriffin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#freekathygriffin</a>
&mdash; David Sacks (@DavidSacks) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidSacks/status/1589483800723353602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
 <a href="https://t.co/cN4aU0Ho3b">pic.twitter.com/cN4aU0Ho3b</a>
&mdash; Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) <a href="https://twitter.com/MostlyPeacefull/status/1589441499556896768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/KMiUPq4A8O">pic.twitter.com/KMiUPq4A8O</a>
&mdash; The Right To Bear Memes (@grandoldmemes) <a href="https://twitter.com/grandoldmemes/status/1589436724706353152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk responded to a Twitter account posting the news that Griffin was banned for impersonating him by first taking a swipe at her and then saying he would let her back on the platform.
“Actually, she was suspended for impersonating a comedian,” Musk tweeted. “But if she really wants her account back, she can have it.”
Musk later added that she would have to pay the $8 fee to use the new Twitter Blue.
Musk also claimed that banning accounts for impersonation does not go against his views on free speech. “My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk,” Musk tweeted.
Twitter has explicit rules prohibiting the impersonation of other people. “You may not impersonate individuals, groups, or organizations to mislead, confuse, or deceive others, nor use a fake identity in a manner that disrupts the experience of others on Twitter,” the company’s terms of service <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-impersonation-and-deceptive-identities-policy#:~:text=While%20you%20are%20not%20required,in%20order%20to%20deceive%20others.">says</a>.
The company does make exceptions for parody accounts, but the accounts have to clearly state that they are parodies.
“If we determine a profile features another’s image, we will also evaluate the context in which the image is used,” the terms of service state. “We are most likely to take action if an account falsely claims to be the entity portrayed in the profile photo, as with impersonation or fake accounts.”

Mea Culpa Live With Michael Cohen

‘Maybe The Greatest Meme Ever’: James Woods, Others Mock Kathy Griffin For Getting Banned On Twitter

James Woods, Others Mock Kathy Griffin For Getting Banned On Twitter

Celebrities

Elon Musk

James Woods

Kathy Griffin

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">Chloë Grace Moretz</a> is still not over being the subject of a meme, claiming the experience has had lasting impacts on her mental health and even her Hollywood career.
The 25-year-old <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">actress</a> addressed the joke once again while speaking with <a href="https://www.etonline.com/chloe-grace-moretz-on-what-she-hopes-fans-took-away-from-her-addressing-family-guy-meme-exclusive">Entertainment Tonight</a> during a red-carpet appearance this week. 
“I think the big thing is that compassion is a really key thing in humanity and just being kind with the words that you say with one another, the things you say online,” she said at the premiere of her Amazon sci-fi series “The Peripheral.”
“I think compassion is key and I hope that the world can have a little bit more of that.”
Moretz is still affected by a photoshopped image of her that went viral. It shows the actress wearing shorts and carrying a pizza, but someone altered the original to shorten Moretz’s torso and lengthen her legs. This drew comparisons to a “Family Guy” character named Legs Go All The Way Up Griffin from the episode “Amish Guy.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Chloë Grace Moretz: I suffered body dysmorphia after &#39;Family Guy&#39; meme <a href="https://t.co/R2C5p1nPrC">https://t.co/R2C5p1nPrC</a> <a href="https://t.co/4y2ouM2L72">pic.twitter.com/4y2ouM2L72</a>
&mdash; New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1575221574009065473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The “Kick Ass” star previously revealed how the meme emotionally scarred her during an <a href="https://www.hungertv.com/editorial/chloe-grace-moretz-on-fame-and-social-media-i-basically-became-a-recluse/">interview</a> with Hunger magazine in September.
“I’ve actually never really talked about this, but there was one meme that really affected me, of me walking into a hotel with a pizza box in my hand. And this photo got manipulated into a character from Family Guy with the long legs and the short torso, and it was one of the most widespread memes at the time,” she recalled.
“Everyone was making fun of my body and I brought it up with someone and they were like, ‘Oh, shut the f*** up, it’s funny.’ And I just remember sitting there and thinking, my body is being used as a joke and it’s something that I can’t change about who I am, and it is being posted all over Instagram.”
Moretz said that even now, seeing the meme is “very hard for me to overcome” and that she “became a recluse” and had anxiety over getting photographed after that happened.

The Museum Of Modern Art Film Benefit Presented By CHANEL: A Tribute To Martin Scorsese – Arrivals

‘Compassion Is Key’: Actress Still Upset About ‘Family Guy’ Meme She Says Caused Anxiety, Body Dysmorphia

Actress Still Upset About 'Family Guy' Meme She Says Caused Anxiety, Body Dysmorphia

Entertainment

Family Guy

Hollywood

Dr. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mehmet-oz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mehmet Oz&#8217;s</a> Senate campaign fired back at Democratic nominee John Fetterman for criticizing his &#8220;crudité&#8221; gaffe.
Fetterman has been criticizing Oz in recent days after he resurfaced a social media video of the Republican candidate complaining about inflation at a grocery store. The video, in which Oz appears to confuse the name of a popular Pennsylvania grocery store chain, has led to social media users mocking Oz as out-of-touch. But on Monday, the Oz campaign fired back fiercely at Fetterman, including a reference to the stroke he suffered in May that has kept him mostly off the campaign trail.
&#8220;If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn&#8217;t have had a major stroke and wouldn&#8217;t be in the position of having to lie about it constantly,&#8221; Oz campaign Senior Communications Adviser Rachel Tripp told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oz-on-fetterman-if-hed-eaten-vegetable-wouldnt-have-stroke-2022-8">Business Insider</a> Tuesday.
Dr. Oz originally posted the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dr_oz/video/7084047614848552234?is_copy_url=1&amp;is_from_webapp=v1&amp;lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> to his official TikTok account in April. In the video, Oz is grocery shopping at Redner&#8217;s, a popular grocery store chain in southeastern Pennsylvania, making note of the high costs of vegetables in the produce section. “Thought I’d do some grocery shopping. I’m at Wegners, and my wife wants some vegetables for a crudité,” Oz says, apparently confusing Redner&#8217;s with Wegman&#8217;s, another grocery store chain with locations throughout the mid-Atlantic, including Pennsylvania.
Fetterman <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnFetterman/status/1559207673698127872?s=20&amp;t=aQNf5cdB8lgiTDVq52KWYA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> the video last week, mocking Oz for using the French word &#8220;crudité&#8221; instead of the more colloquial term &#8220;veggie tray.&#8221; Oz defended his word choice in an interview with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7yFLY5iCYs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox Business</a> Tuesday. &#8220;Whether I pick words that are not conventional ones are irrelevant to the bigger challenges that we&#8217;re facing in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania,&#8221; Oz said.
For his part, Fetterman actually lost over 140 pounds, going from weighing 418 pounds to just over 270, between 2017 and 2018, by altering his dietary habits and walking several miles a day, <a href="https://archive.triblive.com/news/health-now/john-fetterman-adopts-new-way-of-eating-drops-148-pounds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TribLive.com</a> reported.
The Pennsylvania Senate campaign has devolved into a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pennsylvanias-senate-campaign-degrades-to-a-meme-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meme war</a>, with the two candidates firing volleys at each other on Twitter and over the airwaves in TV advertisements, as The Daily Wire&#8217;s Ben Zeisloft reported earlier this month.
Fetterman has done much of his campaigning over social media and TV, focusing on the fact that until recently, Oz&#8217;s primary residence was his home in New Jersey. Fetterman made his first public appearance since suffering a stroke at a rally in Erie on August 12; he gave an 11-minute speech, in which he <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1559000551576244226" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repeatedly stopped</a> abruptly before continuing. Fetterman gave another speech at a rally in Pittsburgh Tuesday; the speech reportedly lasted for less than five minutes, and Fetterman again <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1562181700305788928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struggled</a> through his remarks.
Oz has also taken to social media and the airwaves to criticize Fetterman over reports that he received a five-figure <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pennsylvania-senate-nominee-fettermans-parents-gave-him-allowance-as-high-as-five-figures-well-into-his-40s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowance</a> from his parents until he was in his 40s; Oz has also repeatedly and vigorously criticized Fetterman&#8217;s absence from the public eye, including his refusal to agree to televised <a href="https://twitter.com/DrOz/status/1562131927813001217?s=20&amp;t=XfsHk-7H_nbT1sEkWmtYmQ">debates</a> against him. Meanwhile, Oz has been very active on the <a href="https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/insight/2022/08/14/mehmet-oz-pennsylvania-senate-campaign/stories/202208140031" target="_blank" rel="noopener">campaign trail</a>, attending multiple campaign events a day all across Pennsylvania.
According to the most recent polling, Oz trails, but is within striking distance of Fetterman. A poll of more than 1,000 likely general election voters, conducted by <a href="https://www.thetrafalgargroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/TRF-PA-General-0820-Poll-Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Trafalgar Group</a>, found that Fetterman leads Oz by less than five points, 48.4% to 43.5%

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