Throughout his first press convention and public look in practically per week, after rumors swirled across the state of his well being, President Donald Trump provided a weird clarification Tuesday for a viral video displaying somebody throwing black rubbish baggage out of a White Home window, claiming the footage was “probably AI-generated” regardless of his personal workers confirming it was actual.
The president’s response got here throughout a press convention the place he additionally sarcastically added a fairly telling comment: “If something happens really bad, just blame AI.”
The controversy started Monday when a video surfaced on social media displaying a number of darkish objects being tossed from what gave the impression to be a second-floor window of the White Home. The footage, initially posted by the Instagram account Washingtonianprobs, shortly went viral and sparked widespread hypothesis about its contents and function. You’ll be able to watch the video under:
“That’s probably AI-generated,” Trump mentioned, insisting White Home home windows can’t be opened as a result of they’re “heavily armored and bulletproof.” He claimed every window weighs roughly 600 kilos and that they’re sealed for safety causes.
“My wife was complaining about it the other day,” Trump recounted. “She said, ‘I’d love to have a little fresh air come in,’ but you can’t—they’re bulletproof.”
The incident occurred amid intense hypothesis about Trump’s well being following his absence from public occasions for a number of days over the Labor Day weekend. The 79-year-old president had not made a public look for practically per week, resulting in unfounded rumors on social media he had died. Trump addressed these rumors Tuesday, saying he “never felt better in my life.”
Late-night host Stephen Colbert seized on Trump’s AI clarification throughout his present Tuesday, highlighting the logical inconsistency within the president’s response.
“You just blamed AI,” Colbert mentioned. “Which means something really bad happened. Are you dead? Were you in those bags? Or are you AI?”
The White Home is at present present process intensive renovations beneath Trump’s route, together with a deliberate $200 million ballroom venture set to start in September and the set up of huge flagpoles on the North and South lawns.
Current considerations over the president’s well being have been fueled by seen bruising on his fingers, which the White Home attributes to “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin,” and swelling round his ankles associated to power venous insufficiency. These bodily signs, mixed along with his momentary absence from the general public eye, contributed to the weekend’s social media hypothesis.
Trump’s remark about blaming AI for unhealthy conditions is fascinating, and considerably ironic, for a couple of causes: For one, he’s beforehand shared AI-generated content material on his social media platforms, and he additionally has a historical past of questioning the authenticity of unfavorable protection. However regardless of the president’s denial, the video stays genuine, based on a number of officers.
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to assist with an preliminary draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the data earlier than publishing.
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