President Donald Trump posted a video on his Truth Social account that included racist depictions of former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, then deleted it roughly 12 hours later after widespread criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.
The clip promoted a long-standing racist trope by portraying the Obamas as apes in a jungle and repeated discredited claims that Trump lost the 2020 election because of voter fraud. About a minute into the clip, the faces of Barack and Michelle Obama were superimposed onto ape bodies while “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the post, saying it was “from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King” and urging the media to “stop the fake outrage.” By Friday afternoon the White House said the video had been removed after a “staffer erroneously made the post.” Trump later said he had seen only the start of the video, which focused on false voter-fraud claims, and that he handed it to staffers to post. “Nobody knew that was in the end,” he said, adding he would not apologize: “I didn’t make a mistake.” A spokesperson for the Obamas declined to comment.
Reaction was swift and bipartisan. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina wrote he was “praying (the video) was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” Representative Mike Lawler called the post “wrong and incredibly offensive” and said it should be deleted and followed by an apology. Top Democrats also condemned the clip: former Vice President Kamala Harris called it a White House “cover up,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described it as “Racist. Vile. Abhorrent.” Former Obama aide Ben Rhodes said the episode should “haunt Trump and his racist followers,” and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries labeled Trump’s behavior “vile, racist and malignant,” urging Republicans to condemn it.
Critics said the episode fits a pattern of racist or inflammatory conduct by Trump. Early in his political career he promoted the “birther” conspiracy questioning Obama’s birthplace, later acknowledging Obama was born in Hawaii while blaming others for starting the claim. He has shared images mocking Black politicians and was criticized last year for depicting Representative Hakeem Jeffries with a mustache and sombrero. Trump has also used inflammatory language about immigrants and foreign nations, including calling Somalis “garbage” and referring to some developing countries as “shithole countries.”
The episode renewed scrutiny of the White House’s oversight of social posts and reignited debate over racial rhetoric from the president and his allies.