White House Communications Director Steven Cheung denounced podcast co-hosts Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza as “racist” after they joked he was an “AI creation” and questioned whether he’s a “real person.” Cheung retweeted the clip and said it showed “some raci
For a moment on Tuesday’s “Chris and Chuck Chat!” podcast, Chuck Todd treated White House Communications Director Steven Cheung like a punchline from a sci-fi script.
Todd joked that if someone told him Cheung was a creation of AI, he “just don’t believe he actually exists.” He added, “I don’t think I’ve ever physically seen him.”
It wasn’t the only jab. Todd also riffed on Cheung’s style, saying, “He’s so over the top. No actual human being with 10 seconds of political training would behave this way.”
Cheung responded quickly, but not with a counter-joke. He retweeted the clip and called it “some racist behavior” from the journalists and podcast hosts. In the post, he wrote: “Some racist behavior here by @chucktodd and @ChrisCillizza.”
Steven Cheung Chuck Todd Chris Cillizza Chris and Chuck Chat AI joke racism claim White House communications director social media debate