President Donald Trump has appointed himself troller-in-chief during a US government shutdown, mocking rival Democrats with racially tinged memes and hoping they take the blame for the crisis.

From ambushing top Democrats with "Trump 2028" hats in the Oval Office to an AI-generated video of House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero, the social media onslaught has been extreme even by the Republican's standards.

But there is a serious strategy behind the socials -- don't negotiate, threaten mass layoffs and hope the Democrats cave.

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday defended Trump's memes and denied claims by Jeffries, who is Black, that the sombrero image was racist.

"I honestly don't even know what that means. Like is he a Mexican American that is offended by having a somb

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