U.S. President Donald Trump has come under fire after a video shared on his Truth Social account briefly included an image portraying former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, triggering widespread criticism from both sides of the political aisle.
The video which was posted late Thursday and deleted about 12 hours later was mainly focused on misleading claims about the 2020 election but ended with an AI‑generated clip showing the Obamas’ faces edited onto ape bodies in a jungle setting. Critics said the imagery invoked historical racist tropes used to dehumanize Black people.
Lawmakers from both parties were quick to condemn the post. Republican Senator Tim Scott, the only Black senator in the GOP, described the clip as “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” and urged its removal. Other Republicans and Democratic leaders also called the imagery offensive and inappropriate.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially dismissed the outrage as “fake outrage,” saying the imagery came from an internet meme portraying Trump as “King of the Jungle” and Democrats as characters from The Lion King, an explanation that did little to quell criticism.
Trump later claimed he had not viewed the full video before it was posted and denied responsibility for the offensive segment. He refused to apologise even as lawmakers from his own party demanded accountability, saying he only saw the earlier portion of the clip.
The episode has intensified scrutiny over Trump’s use of social media and raised fresh concerns about how political leaders engage with racially sensitive content in public communications.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
