Washington DC - Vice President JD Vance desperately scrambled to defend President Donald Trump's racially-charged AI video posting spree, which mocked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

"I think it's funny. The president's joking, and we're having a good time," Vance said during a White House press conference when asked about whether videos posted by Trump undermined good faith negotiations with the Democrats.

"You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats' positions, and even poking some fun at the absurdity of the Democrats themselves," Vance said.

Trump raised eyebrows on Tuesday when he re-posted an AI video portraying Jeffries wearing a sombrero and sporting a mustache.

This video was followed up on Wednesday with a clip of the Jeffries having his interview with MSNBC interrupted by an AI-generated mariachi band.

In the original clip, the Democrat was condemning Trump's initial post as "disgusting" and warning him that "bigotry will get you nowhere."

Trump's trolling came as both Schumer and Jeffries attempted to negotiate with the administration over a stopgap funding bill which would have avoided a government shutdown.

Both the Republican and Democratic proposals ultimately failed and the government entered shutdown on Wednesday. It later emerged that Trump had dotted the Oval Office with "Trump 2028" hats during in discussions with the Democratic leaders.

"I'll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now," Vance said in the press conference, "I'll make the solemn promise to you that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop."