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The video, which appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence, was emblazoned with the message “Long Live the Real King.”
- Feb. 24, 2025, 1:41 p.m. ET
Monitors at the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday briefly displayed a fake video depicting President Trump sucking the toes of Elon Musk, according to department employees and others familiar with what transpired. The video, which appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence, was emblazoned with the message “Long Live the Real King.”
The short video appeared two days after Mr. Musk — the tech billionaire Mr. Trump appointed to make cuts across the federal government — ordered federal workers to respond to an email demanding they summarize their accomplishments during the past workweek, threatening that failure to comply would be construed as a resignation. That threat did not appear in the email, which gave federal employees a deadline of Monday night to respond with about five bullet points describing what they had accomplished over the last week.
A handful of cabinet secretaries, including those engaged in national security matters, instructed the agencies under their purview not to comply with the directive, given the sensitivity of their work activities. According to three people familiar with the situation at the housing department, employees there have asked superiors for guidance on whether to comply with the order, but there has not yet been any agencywide direction.
The looping video greeted housing department employees on the first day that all workers were expected to be back at their headquarters full-time, to comply with Mr. Trump’s orders ending remote work for federal workers. Leaders could not immediately identify how monitors had been hacked to display the images, and ended up simply unplugging several devices, according to two people familiar with what transpired.
“Another waste of taxpayer dollars and resources. Appropriate action will be taken for all involved,” said Kasey Lovett, a spokeswoman for the department.
Christopher Flavelle is a Times reporter who writes about how the United States is trying to adapt to the effects of climate change. More about Christopher Flavelle
Nicholas Nehamas is a Washington correspondent for The Times, focusing on the Trump administration and its efforts to transform the federal government. More about Nicholas Nehamas
