On The Hill

FILTER FIASCO! Hakeem Jeffries Roasted Over ‘Airbrushed’ Knicks Photo

posted by Hannity Staff - 5.28.26

Nothing unites the internet quite like a questionable selfie.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries found himself on the receiving end of a social media pile-on Wednesday after posting what was intended to be a celebratory tribute to the New York Knicks’ return to the NBA Finals for the first time in nearly three decades.

Instead of focusing on the Knicks’ long-awaited championship run, users quickly zeroed in on Jeffries’ appearance in the photo.

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The image showed the Brooklyn Democrat wearing a white Knicks cap and smiling for the camera. But critics immediately claimed the picture appeared digitally altered, citing a smoother complexion, a more defined jawline, and noticeably softened facial features.

The online reaction was swift.

National Republican Senatorial Committee aide Sarah Gallagher amplified the criticism on X, writing, “[B]abe wake up hakeem jeffries is using facetune again.”

Republican strategist Alex Pfeiffer piled on.

“Hakeem Jeffries looks like a JV baseball coach going through marital troubles,” Pfeiffer joked.

Others in GOP circles joined the fun.

“These unrealistic beauty standards are hitting Jeffries hard,” quipped Edgar A. Barrios, a member of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s rapid response operation.

The mockery wasn’t confined to political operatives.

Instagram users flooded Jeffries’ comments section with questions about the image, with some accusing him of relying on artificial intelligence or photo-editing software.

“How many AI photos are you gonna post,” one commenter asked.

Another simply called the image “Just bizarre.”

A third user mixed Knicks fandom with political frustration, writing: “No. Do not do this. Do not put your lobbyist-approved, corporate liberal, cheugy ass stink on this team. Leave it alone congressman.”

More over at The New York Post: