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House Democrats faced criticism from the White House after a viral TikTok video depicted them as video game characters. Meanwhile, a Congresswoman defended it as a creative outreach effort.
Screengrabs of viral TikTok videos (Social Media)
The White House on Friday slammed House Democrats after a TikTok video, shared by social media influencer Jessica Woo, showed several elected Democrats pretending to be video game characters.
The video was widely shared on social media platform X, and had a running caption “Choose your fighter”. It featured Democrat Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, Lauren Underwood, Katherine Clark, Judy Chu, and Susie Lee.
The congresswomen in the video could be seen jumping up and down in a fighting position, similar to video game characters, along with text describing their accolades and attributes.
In response, the White House posted another video, captioning, “Hey House Democrats, we fixed this for you!”
The new video showed a montage featuring Trump and several members of his administration, and read, “America chose its fighters last November.”
Meanwhile, CNN anchor Abby Phillip also tore into Rep. Marilyn Strickland over the viral video and questioned why was it necessary.
“Congresswoman, that TikTok trend, I don‘t even know where to begin. I’m not sure why this is necessary. I mean, there is, like, serious stuff happening in this country, but that seems to be just inviting ridicule,” Phillip said.
Strickland, however, defended the video, claiming that creativity is typically met with criticism, and reiterating the massive reach the video obtained.
“So, when you think about TikTok as a trend, we are trying to reach out to different people and different voters, and the woman who produced this is an influencer with seven million followers. So, this is lighthearted, it’s fun. And every time you do something creative, you’re going to get criticism, right? But I actually applaud them for trying to do something different. And here’s the reality, seven million followers. Whether you think it’s cringe or you like it, we’re on CNN on a Thursday night and we’re talking about it on national TV,” claimed the congresswoman.
NEW: CNN’s Abby Phillip mocks House Democrats for their failed “Choose Your Fighter” video“I don’t even know where to begin. I’m not sure why this is necessary. I mean, there is, like, serious stuff happening in this country, but that seems to be just inviting ridicule.” pic.twitter.com/Ny58ieF9Us
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) March 7, 2025
Further, Strickland flipped the conversation to President Trump’s performance in office.
“Well, let’s talk about fixing what’s wrong. Donald Trump is doing nothing for the American people,” Strickland said.
