Trump’s shocking racist post depicting Obamas as Apes deleted amid outrage

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

A social media post shared by President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform late Thursday night, which included a racist video clip depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, was removed Friday morning following widespread condemnation from lawmakers, civil rights groups, and even members of Trump’s own party.

The video, reposted by Trump around midnight, featured imagery superimposing the Obamas’ faces onto ape bodies in a jungle setting.

It appeared as part of a longer clip promoting unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 election.

The imagery drew on a long-discredited and historically racist trope that has been used to dehumanise Black Americans, dating back to eras of slavery and segregation.

Initial reaction from the White House was defensive. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the criticism as “fake outrage,” describing the content as originating from “an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.”

She urged critics to “stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”

However, the backlash intensified rapidly. Bipartisan outrage poured in from Capitol Hill. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the only Black Republican in the Senate, called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House” and urged the president to remove it immediately.

Other Republican senators, including some veteran lawmakers, labeled the post “unacceptable” and demanded an apology.

Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, condemned it as “vile” and highlighted the Obamas’ status as “brilliant, compassionate, and patriotic Americans.”

Civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP, also decried the video, noting its timing during the early days of Black History Month added to the insult.

By midday Friday, the post had been deleted from Trump’s account. A White House official issued a statement attributing the share to a staffer who “erroneously made the post,” confirming its removal.

The shift represented a rare public walk-back from the administration, which had initially stood by the content.