Trump Shared Racist Video Depicting the Obamas as Apes, Refused to Apologize

Details

On February 5, 2026, at 11:44 p.m. ET, President Donald Trump's Truth Social account shared a video that included a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama — the nation's first Black president and first lady — with their faces superimposed on the bodies of apes. The post remained live for approximately 12 hours before it was removed following widespread bipartisan condemnation.

The roughly one-minute video primarily promoted false claims about voting machine tampering during the 2020 presidential election. Near its end, the video abruptly cut to a brief clip of the Obamas' faces on animated apes, accompanied by the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." The imagery invokes a centuries-old racist trope dating back to 18th century pseudo-scientific theories in which white people drew connections between Africans and apes to justify enslavement and later the dehumanization of freed Black people during Jim Crow.

The clip appears to have originated from a longer AI-generated video posted in October 2025 by a conservative meme account on X (with the handle @XERIAS_X), which depicted Trump as a lion and various Democrats as jungle animals. However, the version Trump shared included only the clip of the Obamas.

White House Response

The White House response shifted significantly over the course of the day. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially dismissed the backlash, telling reporters: "This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public." As multiple outlets noted, Disney's 1994 film The Lion King is set on the savannah and does not include ape characters.

After bipartisan calls for removal — including from close Trump allies — the post was deleted around noon on Friday. A White House official then told reporters that "a White House staffer erroneously made the post" and that "it has been taken down." The staffer was not identified. The White House did not respond to follow-up questions about who the staffer was or how frequently others post from the president's official account.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One later Friday evening, Trump said he did not watch the full video before it was shared: "I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of picture people don't like. I wouldn't like it either, but I didn't see it." He said he watched the beginning, which was about election fraud, liked what he saw, and passed it to staff for posting. Asked whether he condemned the racist imagery, Trump said, "Of course I do." Asked if he would apologize, he refused: "No, I didn't make a mistake."

Bipartisan Condemnation

The video drew an unusual degree of Republican criticism, with multiple GOP senators and House members publicly breaking with the White House.

Republican criticism:

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) — the only Black Republican in the Senate, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and a close Trump ally — was among the first to condemn the post, writing on X: "Praying it was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House. The President should remove it." Trump later confirmed he called Scott, telling him the post was a staffer's mistake and it would be taken down. The post was removed shortly after their call.

Other Republicans who publicly condemned the video included Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who shared Scott's post writing "Tim is right. This was appalling"; Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), who called it "totally unacceptable" and said Trump should apologize; Sen. John Curtis (R-UT), who called it "blatantly racist and inexcusable"; Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), who said it "is not who we are as a nation"; and Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), who said "even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context."

In the House, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) called the post "wrong and incredibly offensive" and demanded Trump apologize. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) called the images "offensive, heart breaking, and unacceptable" and also called for an apology. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) demanded "a clear and unequivocal apology," calling the post "a grave failure of judgment."

Democratic response:

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black leader of a party in Congress, posted a video on Instagram stating: "This disgusting video posted by the so-called president was done intentionally. F--- Donald Trump and his vile, racist and malignant behavior." He said the White House claim that a staffer posted it in error was not credible, "especially since they originally defended the post." Jeffries called on House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to denounce the president.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on X: "No one believes this cover up from the White House, especially since they originally defended the post. We are all clear-eyed about who Donald Trump is and what he believes."

California Governor Gavin Newsom's office responded on X: "Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now."

Civil Rights Response

NAACP President Derrick Johnson called the video "blatantly racist, disgusting, and utterly despicable," adding: "Trump is obviously desperate to distract us from the Epstein Files and his rapidly failing economy. You know who isn't in the Epstein files? Barack Obama. You know who actually improved the economy as president? Barack Obama."

Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., resurfaced her father's words — "Yes. I'm Black. I'm proud of it. I'm Black and beautiful" — and said Black Americans "are beloved of God as postal workers and professors, as a former first lady and president. We are not apes."

The Black Conservative Federation, a Trump-aligned group whose gala Trump headlined in February 2024, called the imagery "unacceptable, offensive, and indefensible," stating it reflected "a serious lapse in judgment by a staffer" and that it "undermines credibility, distracts from substantive policy progress, and damages trust with Black Americans." The group continued to express support for Trump's policy agenda.

The Obamas declined to comment through their representatives.

Historical Context

The incident occurred during the first week of Black History Month and just days after a presidential proclamation citing "the contributions of Black Americans to our national greatness."

Trump has a documented history of sharing racially charged content on social media. In September 2025, Trump posted an AI-generated video depicting Hakeem Jeffries wearing a cartoon sombrero and mustache with mariachi music playing. Earlier, he shared an AI video depicting Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office. Neither post was taken down or accompanied by an apology.

During Trump's first term in 2018, ABC fired Roseanne Barr from her sitcom after she compared Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to an offspring of "the planet of the apes." At the time, then-White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that "no one is defending" Barr's comments — a notably different posture from Leavitt's initial dismissal of "fake outrage" over this video.

Trump was also the most prominent proponent of the "birther" conspiracy, which falsely claimed that Obama was born in Kenya and was ineligible to serve as president. During his 2024 campaign, he said immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country," and during his first term referred to majority-Black developing nations as "shithole countries."

Pattern of Blame Shifting

The White House's claim that a staffer posted the video by mistake mirrors a prior incident. In October 2015, while campaigning for president, Trump re-tweeted a post questioning the mental fitness of Iowans. That post was also removed, and Trump blamed "a young intern" for the mistake. It is rare for Trump to delete social media posts or acknowledge errors.