Talk about a violent night!
Indiana state Sen. Chris Garten (R) is facing backlash after he kicked off Christmas Day by posting a bizarre series of AI-generated pictures showing him beat up Santa Claus in front of the state capitol building.
The mock images depict a sleeveless Garten surrounded by a crowd of cheering supporters as he kicks, punches and pulls off a body splash on Kris Kringle in wrestler-like fashion.
“When you find out the North Pole is trying to bring more bureaucratic overreach & unfunded mandates down the chimney disguised as ‘Christmas cheer.’ Not on my watch. We The People run Indiana, not the bureaucrats,” wrote the Indiana State Senate majority floor leader in a post to his X account.
“Take it back to the North Pole big guy. Merry Christmas, Hoosiers! 🇺🇸🎅🏻🥊.”
Garten later defended himself and claimed he was hit with “lots of intolerance, swearing, and outrage” over pictures he “had a blast designing” with his children.
“Some of you clowns are just insufferable. Hopefully your negativity stays in the comments and not directed at your families,” he wrote on X. “Merry Christmas, snowflakes!”
The Republican’s faux St. Nick takedown still led critics on the platform to put him on the naughty list.
