President Donald Trump condemned, but did not apologize for, a video shared on his social media account that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes—a post that drew immediate bipartisan condemnation for dehumanizing people of African descent.
The one-minute video, posted late Thursday on Trump’s Truth Social network, propagated false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of fraud. Near the end, the video included a brief, apparently AI-generated clip of dancing primates with the Obamas’ heads superimposed.
The White House initially defended the post on Friday as a harmless “internet meme,” but later deleted it approximately 12 hours after it appeared, acknowledging that its publication was an error.
Trump, speaking to reporters Friday evening, said he had not watched the full video before a White House aide posted it to his account. His remarks capped a day of conflicting narratives within the administration, which is typically unflinching in defending the president.
The post drew swift criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, including Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Black Trump ally, who called it the “most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House” and urged its removal. Other Republican lawmakers privately contacted the White House, demanding an apology and the video’s deletion.
Mark Burns, a Black pastor and Trump supporter, said he spoke directly with the president about the post and called for the staff member responsible to be fired.
Trump has a long history of promoting racist rhetoric, including the false conspiracy theory questioning Obama’s birthplace.
The recent post has renewed scrutiny of the president’s record and his administration’s handling of racially sensitive content.
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