A Republican congressional candidate in Michigan is standing by his decision to use an A.I. generated voiceover of Dr. Martin Luther Jr to endorse himself, arguing that the civil rights leader would have endorsed him if he were alive.
Anthony Hudson released the cringe-worthy ad using the A.I. generated voice to Dr. King appearing to spoof his iconic 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech to urge people to vote for Hudson in the House race for Michigan 8th congressional district
“I have another dream,” the AI-generated voiceover of Dr. King states. “Yes, it is me, Martin Luther King. I came back from the dead to say something. As I was saying, I have another dream that Anthony Hudson will be Michigan’s 8th District’s next congressman. Yes, I have a dream again. Okay, now I am going back to where I came from, goodbye.”
Hudson’s voice then comes on to say, “My name is Anthony Hudson, and I approve this message.”
The video was taken down from Tik Tok after it was posted on X by the Heartland Signal.
Hudson initially apologized and blamed a staffer for the video. He also said the staffer had been fired.
However, Hudson walked back his apology and decided to keep his staffer after ‘further review’ of the video.
“Upon further review of the MLK video in question, I decided to not only not keep my campaign staffer, but also give him a raise as I believe MLK would be disgusted at the complete suffering of Flint Michigan residents under the current administration’s watch,” he wrote on X.
“If MLK were alive today – I do believe he would endorse me and my vision for a better Michigan,” Hudson argued.
Hudson is one of three Republicans seeking the GOP nomination to represent Michigan’s 8th district. The district is represent by Rep. Dan Kildee (D) who announced last year that he won’t be seeking re-election in 2024.
