President Donald Trump posted a third-party video on social media late Thursday that ended with a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. The post was removed about 12 hours later after criticism from Democrats, civil rights groups and several Republicans, including Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
President Donald Trump posted a video to his Truth Social account late Thursday that included a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. The video was deleted about 12 hours later after a wave of criticism.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who leads Senate Republicans’ campaign arm and is the Senate’s only Black Republican, publicly condemned the post on X. “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” Scott wrote, adding that the president “should remove it.”
The White House sought to defuse the controversy, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt describing the clip as part of an “internet meme video” portraying Trump as the “king of the jungle” and dismissing the response as “fake outrage,” according to statements reported by multiple outlets. A White House official later told reporters the post had been made in error by a staffer.
Speaking to reporters the next day, Trump said he had watched only the beginning of the video and had not seen the offensive ending before it was posted. He declined to apologize, saying he “didn’t make a mistake,” while also saying he condemned the racist imagery.
Other Republicans also criticized the post. Rep. Mike Lawler of New York called it “incredibly offensive” and urged its deletion and an apology, while Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi described the clip as “totally unacceptable,” according to reports.
The episode added to scrutiny of Trump’s social media activity and his long record of racially charged controversies, while prompting renewed debate over how quickly the White House addresses offensive content shared by the president’s accounts.
