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The Deeply Unserious Era: 'Hakeem Jeffries Sombrero,' 'Gavin Newsom's Minions' And How Politicians Are Weaponizing Memes Against Their Rivals
The political landscape in America has changed drastically over the last decade, thanks to the rise of social media, AI, memes and the way politicians, like President Donald Trump, have embraced them.
Now, we're seeing some of the biggest politicians in the U.S. use memes as a form of social media warfare, and one of the biggest recent examples is the Hakeem Jeffries Sombrero videos, which have sparked considerable controversy online.
Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom has been copying the Trump strategy for his own series of parody posts and memes that turn J.D. Vance into a Minion. Here's a brief look at two of the most recent examples of how deeply unserious politics has become in 2025.
What Is The 'Hakeem Jeffries' Sombrero Meme?
At the end of September 2025, with only days to go until the U.S. government shutdown, President Trump posted an AI-assisted video to Truth Social and X / Twitter that makes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rant about using illegal immigrants for votes by buttering them up with free healthcare. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is also in the video, but he's been given a sombrero.
The post went viral, and Representative Jeffries retaliated by sharing a real photo of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein hanging out. He also called the sombrero meme racist.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2025
This only inspired President Trump to post another sombrero edit, only this time, the video he used was from Jeffries' appearance on MSNBC.
Now, others are making their own sombrero posts and memes by adding the hats to other Democratic politicians, seemingly in an attempt to get under their skin. Democrats are also firing back with their own sombrero edits, causing a slight political meme war on X this week.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2025
What's With Gavin Newsom's 'Minions' Memes?
In early August 2025, Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, rebranded his X posting strategy. Suddenly, his posts became more aggressive, filled with all-caps text, demands and insults.
He also started posting AI-generated memes, seemingly taking a page from the MAGA posting book. People quickly started calling him out for "copying" Trump, but the memes have not stopped since.
Now, Newsom is posting AI-generated edits of the much-memed Vice President J.D. Vance and other Republicans that turn them into Minions from Despicable Me.
PSA from JD. pic.twitter.com/fhnuX7leOL
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 1, 2025
These memes are meant to paint the Republicans as Trump's servants and mouthpieces, much like the Minions are to Gru in the animated film series. Governor Newsom posted two of these videos on October 1st, 2025, as the sombrero edits continued to flood X.
Trump’s Minion Mike lies to the American people. pic.twitter.com/O66du5modt
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 1, 2025
What Are Some More 'Political Meme Warfare' Memes?
Trump’s Minion Mike lies to the American people. pic.twitter.com/O66du5modt
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 1, 2025
For the full history of Hakeem Jeffries' Sombrero, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
