A convoluted crew of far-right wing meme makers and attendees of pro-Trump conferences in Miami and Washington have denied creating a doctored video showing the president killing members of the news media — but they are reveling in the attention.
The "Trumpsman" video parody, which was first posted by TheGeekzTeam YouTube channel in July 2018, sparked social media outrage Monday after The New York Times reported it was played at the latest American Priority Conference in Miami last week. The edited clip of the 2017 film The Kingsman shows President Donald Trump's face superimposed onto actor Colin Firth's head as it depicts him killing people inside a church as Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" plays in the background.
Update: Twitter once again suspended the @CarpeDonktum account Monday afternoon but @Mad_Liberals remains.
Two individuals who met the president in July at the White House social media summit denied creating the Trumpsman video, but claimed a "friend" made the video.
The July 2018 video posted by TheGeekzTeam is tied to several pro-Trump accounts including one called Carpe Donktum and "mad-liberals." Dozens of videos posted by those accounts on social media show a wide range of Democrats and Trump critics including CNN reporter Jim Acosta on top of movie characters who are routinely killed by figures superimposed with Trump's face.
The White House attempted to distance itself from the video, but two accounts tied to its creator, Carpe Donktum and @mad_liberals, show a man posing for pictures inside the Oval Office and alongside former Trump administration officials Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Anthony Scaramucci.
The creator behind the "Mad-Liberals" account met Trump in the Oval Office in July with his Carpe Donktum meme-maker associate. Trump reportedly referred to them as "genius."
Huffington Post reporter Luke O'Brien first posted the purported identity of the man behind the Carpe Donktum account, Logan Cook. The account, however, claimed it was an associate Monday on Twitter. A KCTV story in July also identified Cook, a Kansas father of two, as the Carpe Donktum provocateur.
"It's not mine, but a friend made it and I fully support him," the Carpe Donktum account remarked Monday morning amid dozens of tweets mocking the mainstream news media's "fake outrage."
It's not mine, but a friend made it and I fully support him.
— Carpe Donktum🔹 (@CarpeDonktum) October 14, 2019
The man identified as Cook has posted several images of himself at the White House and alongside Trump in the Oval Office during the July "Social Media Summit" of pro-Trump video creators. The Carpe Donktum account also shows himself at a December 2018 American Priority Conference and posing for pictures with pro-Trump provocateurs Mike Cernovich, Laura Loomer and former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
"I can confirm, I did in fact visit the White House and meet with President Trump in the Oval Office with my family and @mad_liberals and his guest. You should have seen Mad_Liberal's face when the "White House Tour" I promised him turned into a meet and greet in the Oval!" Carpe Donktum tweeted in July, responding to a Jack Posobiec remark.
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham responded to the Times report Monday and claimed the president had not yet seen it but disavowed its content. "re: the video played over the weekend: The @POTUS @realDonaldTrump has not yet seen the video, he will see it shortly, but based upon everything he has heard, he strongly condemns this video."
The New York Times reported that the video was played during the latest American Priority conference last week at Trump National Doral Miami. The event was not officially hosted by the president or his reelection campaign. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told the newspaper: "That video was not produced by the campaign, and we do not condone violence."
The Carpe Donktum accounts did not immediately respond to Newsweek's requests for comment Monday morning.
However, the account did complain to HuffPo's Luke O'Brien on Twitter that he "doxxed" his information. O'Brien pushed back on the claim Sunday night: "My comment is that you are publishing a lie designed to target me for harassment. And, yes, as you point out -- it could also incite violence."
As The Washington Post reported in July after the Trump social media summit at the White House, the president was delighted to meet the Carpe Donktum creator:
"'Where is the genius? I want to meet the genius,' Trump said to @CarpeDonktum as the men entered the Oval Office, according to the recollection of @mad_liberals. Both men spoke to The Washington Post about their experience with the president on the condition their full names not be used, since they fear online or in-person harassment."
In May, the Carpe Donktum account penned a piece on the website Human Events in which he complained about social media censorship and anti-conservative bias, "I Was Trump's Favorite Meme Maker, Now I'm Suspended On Twitter."
And the Twitter account has since gone on a series of rants against news outlets for covering the provocative church shooting video.
"The real reason that the Media is upset about the Kingsman video is that it shows them in a church. Devastating to their brand," reads another reply reveling in The New York Times story, before ridiculing several reporters.
"Kingsman is trending and hysterical morons like [Maggie Haberman] and [Brian Stelter] are fueling a panic over a meme. IT'S AN INCITEMENT TO VIOLENCE, they cried in unison. If you are saying that Trump might see the video and then go kill a church full of fake news. Then sure. Guilty," the Carpe Donktum account ranted.
