Hackers broadcast AI video of Donald Trump, Elon Musk on US govt televisions

The fabricated video shows the US president massaging Elon Musk’s toes with the caption ‘Long live the real king’. Photo / X / @krassenstein

United States Government agencies are broadcasting an AI-generated video of Donald Trump kissing Elon Musk’s feet after their screens were apparently hacked.

Televisions at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) showed the US President sucking and massaging Musk’s toes, with the caption: “Long live the real king”.

Last week, Trump referred to himself as a “king” on his Truth Social platform after announcing that New York’s congestion fee would be scrapped.

Staff were reportedly unable to work out how to stop the video, which had seemingly been generated by artificial intelligence (AI), and resorted to unplugging TVs throughout the building.

Musk is seen as massively influential in the administration, with Time Magazine running a front cover this month showing “President Musk” behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

The identities of the hackers and how they managed to breach the department’s security are unclear.

HUD spokesman Kasery Lovett told The Hill: “Another waste of taxpayer dollars and resources. Appropriate action will be taken for all involved”.

A draft proposal leaked to media last week showing the Trump administration was planning to sack half of all HUD employees.

WOW! This actually just happened!

The Monitors were just hacked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to display an AI video of Trump licking Elon Musk’s toes.

The caption over it read: “LONG LIVE THE REAL KING.” pic.twitter.com/11JWuH2XfZ

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) February 24, 2025

At the weekend, Musk provoked anger from civil servants by saying they needed to provide a list of five things they had accomplished in the past week or face dismissal.

Several Cabinet members have told employees to ignore the instruction, prompting a power struggle in the administration.

Musk is one of the US President’s closest allies, having spent close to US$300 million ($523m) on his re-election campaign, and last month was appointed to run its Department of Government Efficiency.

In a joint Fox News interview between the two men last week, Trump said Musk warned him media reports about his influence were intended to divide them.

“Elon called me. He said, you know, they’re trying to drive us apart. I said, absolutely,” he told Fox News.

“They said, ‘We have breaking news. Donald Trump has ceded control of the presidency to Elon Musk. President Musk will be attending a Cabinet meeting tonight at 8.’”