A GOP Account Posted a Chuck Schumer Deepfake With a Real Schumer Quote

Is an AI-generated video of a politician technically a deepfake if the words they say are their own?

By any reasonable definition, yes, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee released such a deepfake of Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on his X account on Friday:

3 Weeks of Schumer Shutdown:

“Every day gets better for us.” pic.twitter.com/1qeNKhvcfI

— Senate Republican (@NRSC) October 17, 2025

The ad, which is labeled as AI-generated, shows Schumer saying six words that she actually said: “Every day gets better for us,” but the quote originally came from a text interview with Schumer. Published in Punchbowl News. After saying these words in the video, Schumer’s digital face breaks into a nightmarish Jim Carrey grin. the grinch.

“These are Chuck Schumer’s own words,” NRSC communications director Joanna Rodriguez told the Associated Press, Added that “video is a way for voters to see and hear it themselves.” A more traditional way of doing this in political ads is to read the quote aloud in a scary voice and put it onscreen in red text.

The video is vaguely cinematic, with heavy bokeh. Savvy internet content consumers probably won’t mistake this for an off-the-cuff comment from a TV news clip, or a smartphone video taken by a congressional reporter. It looks a lot like a stock photo of Schumer quickly animated with a quick and dirty online tool. Looking at Google 3.

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to worry about. Viral videos are a popular genreFacebook users in their 60s and older fall for far less rational AI tricks all the time.

X’s rule “You shall not fraudulently share synthetic or manipulated media that may cause harm.” The phrase “likely to cause harm” leaves room for interpretation, especially since the video only received 364 reposts and 414 likes on X at the time of publication.

In the original interview, Schumer essentially says that his party’s messaging around the government shutdown — an effort to focus public attention on health care — is going well. He even rephrased it in somewhat longer form: “But we’re getting better and better every day as the message sinks in.”

We’ve reached out to Senator Schumer for comment, and will update when we hear back.