House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hasn’t been having a good time of it in the viral photo department, but this is just beyond ridiculous.
In a post that got attention for all the wrong reasons, the New York Democrat says that he’s proud to be “home sweet home,” but the photo bears obvious evidence of photoshopping.
The photo, posted Monday, appears to show Jeffries in laid-back mode, sporting some running clothes and sunglasses while leaning against a park bench.
The picture itself isn’t given an exact location, simply labeled as being taken in Brooklyn. Jeffries grew up in the Crown Heights neighborhood of that borough, and indeed it looks like a photo of a verdant park somewhere in the city:
View this post on Instagram
This is all pretty good until you give it a closer look:
Yes, this is real.
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries Photoshopped himself so hard he bent the bench. pic.twitter.com/WBifTUhp8y
— Courtney Holland ???????? (@hollandcourtney) July 7, 2025
Yes, unless Mr. Jeffries has more power to bend benches than he does to bend “Big Beautiful Bills,” this definitely wasn’t as it came out of the camera.
To be fair, this looks a bit more like a case of digital liposuction than outright AI prestidigitation or anything of that nature. GOP operative Erin Maguire called it “the most transparency we’ve seen from Democrats in years.”
Hakeem Jeffries slimming himself in Photoshop is the most transparency we’ve seen from Democrats in years pic.twitter.com/OFOiOm65OC
— Erin Maguire (@ErinMMaguire) July 7, 2025
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is caught altering an Instagram photo to make his waist look thinner.
Check out the bench. How vain of him! pic.twitter.com/jnR3apPc20
— Paul A. Szypula ???????? (@Bubblebathgirl) July 7, 2025
However, it is the perfect encapsulation of why the modern Democrats are in such straits: Even in trying to look like a relaxed, relatable individual, Jeffries needs some photoshopping.
Of course, part of the problem is that this is what happens when photo-editing technology isn’t used on Jeffries’ attempts to go viral with a photo:
Hakeem Jeffries posts pic of him holding a baseball bat with the caption: “House Democrats will keep the pressure on Trump’s One Big Ugly Bill ????” pic.twitter.com/RaXfA6Ow7Z
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) July 2, 2025
This pic, posted before Jeffries gave a vain speech that lasted nearly nine hours in an attempt to derail the “Big Beautiful Bill,” was given the mockery it so richly deserved:
Nah, we beat Dems at that too. https://t.co/OoU1uwSU8J pic.twitter.com/56WpSjBgpu
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) July 2, 2025
Is he like 5’2”?
— Vince ???????? (@VGmt0800) July 2, 2025
Seriously what is wrong with this man? He looks ridiculous and psychotic all at once. pic.twitter.com/0jh77ksUgk
— Prof Zenkus (@anthonyzenkus) July 2, 2025
However, Jeffries’ Monday post gives me a bit of inspiration. Here, Mr. Jeffries, using a bit of AI and the same ethos and perspicacity that your social media team employed, I created a highly realistic representation of what you hoped to convey, all without raising any more alarms regarding digital manipulation than your “Home Sweet Home” post did.
You’re quite welcome, Mr. Jeffries; please deposit the consultation and graphic design fees in my account by Friday at the latest. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
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