AI video of Dutch royals in the White House watched millions of times
An AI-generated satirical video showing King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in pajamas causing chaos inside the White House has spread rapidly online, drawing millions of views and attention for its depiction of Donald Trump-related gags, including McDonald’s food being delivered, a destroyed Nobel Prize, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro found hiding in a cabinet.
The video, created by Utrecht-based AI studio Fake it or Leave it, has been viewed nearly four million times on social media. It plays on the recent visit by the Dutch royal couple to the United States, during which they stayed overnight at the White House—an experience the creators said “speaks to the imagination.”
Co-founder Matties Grooten said the goal was to tap into existing public sentiment through satire. “We try with satire and humor to touch something that already exists among people,” he told RTL.
The royal visit itself was aimed at strengthening relations with the U.S. Trump recently claimed that “an entire civilization would perish” if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz in time, a statement that drew widespread criticism, including in The Hague.
The production process, Grooten said, begins with brainstorming ideas and jokes before developing a script and building the full video. He added that not every idea makes the final cut. “During the production process, things are also critically cut. It is really ‘kill your darlings.’ Jokes that are not strong enough do not make the final version.”
One recurring theme in the video is the mix of political satire and absurd humor. Grooten said, “In the video, there are several nods, such as a scene in which the Nobel Prize that Trump would like to win is destroyed and a fragment in which Nicolás Maduro is discovered in a cabinet and the royal couple offer him a hamburger.”
He also pointed to visual details designed to reward repeat viewing. “Viewers discover small jokes, such as spilled peanut butter on the desk in the Oval Office,” he said. “That makes people watch the video more often to discover new elements.”
