Bipartisan Outcry Erupts After Trump Shares Racist Video of Obamas on Truth Social
President Donald Trump is facing widespread condemnation from lawmakers across the political spectrum after sharing a video on his Truth Social platform that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as primates. The post, which was shared late Thursday, triggered immediate backlash from civil rights leaders, Democrats, and members of his own party, leading to its deletion on Friday morning.
The controversial 62-second clip, set to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” largely focused on debunked conspiracy theories regarding voting machines in the 2020 election. However, approximately one minute into the video, it featured AI-generated imagery superimposed over a scene of apes, replacing the animals’ faces with those of the Obamas. The video originated from a content creator known for generating pro-Trump internet memes.
White House Defense and Subsequent Reversal
Initial responses from the White House dismissed the criticism. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the reaction as “fake outrage,” arguing that the video was merely a meme depicting President Trump as the “King of the Jungle” and his political opponents as characters from The Lion King. Leavitt urged the media to “report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
However, as pressure mounted—including calls for the post’s removal from the sole Black Republican senator—the video was deleted from the President’s account. Following the deletion, White House officials shifted their stance, attributing the share to a staffer who they claimed had posted the video “erroneously.”
History of Attacks
This incident adds to a long history of hostile rhetoric directed at the Obamas by Donald Trump. Before his presidency, Trump was a leading figure in the “birther” movement, which falsely claimed Barack Obama was not born in the United States. In recent years, he has increasingly utilized artificial intelligence to mock political rivals, previously sharing AI-generated images of Obama behind bars.
Critics argue that the imagery used in this latest video taps into centuries-old racist tropes that have historically been used to dehumanize Black people. The post appeared amidst a flurry of social media activity where the President reiterated claims that the 2020 election was stolen, assertions that have been repeatedly rejected by courts and his own former officials.
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