Gubernatorial election campaigning in the US is getting wilder than ever, and this time, the stakes were taken so much higher when a podcaster campaigning for a New Jersey gubernatorial candidate posted a video centered around MAGA, AI, and… Batman. The MAGA podcaster basically uploaded an AI-made video of him getting into physical altercations with Hispanics and Asians dressed up in traditional Mexican clothing, and the video has since been deleted due to the backlash and accusations of racism.
Despite being erased quickly by Johnson himself, some fast hands managed to preserve the footage and re-upload it to Reddit. The video, uploaded early in October, was captioned: “Unreleased footage of my weekend with ICE in Chicago,” though it’s really just Johnson in a 1960s-themed Batman costume getting physical with Asians and Hispanics in Walmart, complete with the Adam West Batman sound effects.
The 22-second clip went viral, but was quickly deleted following backlash. Johnson is notably campaigning for New Jersey governor candidate Jack Ciattarelli, and alongside the Batman video he posted, Johnson also announced that he will be speaking for Ciattarelli’s rally on October 10th in support of the Republican candidate.
It’s also worth noting that Johnson was once a BuzzFeed political reporter but was fired back in 2014 for plagiarism. Johnson appears to have found his calling as a conservative and right-wing influencer and podcaster, similar to the late Charlie Kirk.
People online slammed the GOP gubernatorial campaigner
While Johnson’s original post has been deleted, people still slammed the podcaster and also the New Jersey governor candidate he’s supporting, labeling the gesture and idea behind the MAGA Batman video as “racist.” Consequently, many people online were appalled at the video, especially since it even misrepresented not just Batman but also Mexican culture.
“Are they not embarrassed,” asks a Reddit commenter. Others were shocked at how many right-wing conservatives are no longer trying to hide their racism anymore, quite possibly due to the current political climate in the US, “Wow they’re just…not even trying to hide their racism anymore. Just full mask off.”
Some people pointed out that MAGA’s new pretense for their bold claims and bad takes is masked behind AI now, “Now MAGA’s excuse is that it isn’t racism if it’s AI. It’s like excusing a shit argument claiming that turds are valid.” Meanwhile, Johnson’s announcement for his speech at the New Jersey gubernatorial campaign rally was similarly met with disapproval even from the people of New Jersey, “New Jersey is better than this, man. I mean come on. 😂,” says someone from New Jersey.
