(Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Staff / Getty Images News via Getty Images)
Those reporting to work at the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Washington, D.C. headquarters this morning got an eyeful as someone appeared to have hacked screens at the building to display an AI-generated video of President Trump.
The clip showed a looping video of Trump sucking on Elon Musk's toes behind an overlay that said: "Long live the real king."
It's a play on Trump posting "long live the king" to Truth Social last week after revoking federal approval for New York City's controversial congestion pricing law. (That's still in effect as NY Governor Kathy Hochul challenges the decision, CBS News reports.)
Some comments on social media call the prank funny and amusing, while others condemned it as immature and gross. Either way, it's certainly an interesting wrinkle in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) agenda as employee morale tanks across DC, following Musk's email to all employees over the weekend asking them to email him five things they worked on last week or get fired.
No one has taken credit for the video yet, but the stunt coincides with all HUD employees being ordered to return to the office today. The video played on a loop for about five minutes on screens throughout the building, according to independent journalist Marisa Kabas. Staffers "couldn't figure out how to turn it off so sent people to every floor to unplug TVs," Kabas says.
Mass layoffs are planned for HUD this week. Musk's DOGE aims to cut 50% of the agency's staff, or around 4,000 jobs, the AP reports.
Neither Musk nor Trump have acknowledged the video on social media. On Saturday, Trump said he would like to see Musk "get more aggressive" with his agenda to reduce the federal workforce and cull funding for its programs.