In a scene that feels ripped straight from a political satire, Democratic leaders walked into the Oval Office this week hoping—against the odds—to avert a government shutdown. Instead, they were met with something even they didn’t see coming: a “Trump 2028” hat sitting front and center on the Resolute Desk.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with President Donald Trump on Monday for what would become a fruitless attempt to prevent a shutdown. The midnight deadline passed, funding dried up, and the government ground to a halt. But it wasn’t just the failure to strike a deal that left Democrats dumbfounded—it was the optics inside the room.
According to Jeffries, the bizarre moment came mid-meeting.
“Well, actually, he did not try to hand Leader Schumer and I the Trump 2028 hat. They just randomly appeared in the middle of the meeting on the desk,” Jeffries told CNN’s Abby Phillip. “It was the strangest thing ever.”
The hat—essentially campaign merch for a term that would violate the Constitution—was first released on Trump’s website back in April for a steep $50. Whether it was a stunt, a statement, or something in between, it got the reaction one might expect.
“I just looked at the hat, looked at JD Vance, who was seated to my left, and said, ‘Don’t you got a problem with this?’ and he said, ‘No comment,’” Jeffries recalled. “And that was the end of it.”
No comment.
That silence from Vice President JD Vance—who’s already drawn criticism for standing by Trump through everything from felony convictions to AI propaganda—was telling. If a sitting president brazenly teasing an unconstitutional third term doesn’t raise an eyebrow from his own VP, what will?
(Photo via Truth Social)
And the strangeness didn’t end in the room. Not long after the failed meeting, Trump escalated the absurdity with a vulgar AI-generated video posted online, depicting Jeffries in a Mexican serape and sombrero, complete with a cartoonish handlebar mustache. Schumer, in the same clip, is seen shouting obscenities, declaring, “Nobody likes democrats anymore.”
Jeffries didn’t mince words in response, calling Trump a “non-serious individual” and his antics a “malignant distraction from people who are determined to continue to rip healthcare away.”
Watch the video below:
