President Donald Trump is facing backlash after posting a racist video that depicts former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The minute-long clip includes Trump’s repeated, unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. It ends with the heads of the Obamas superimposed on the bodies of apes.
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Using apes or monkeys to portray Black people is widely recognized as a racist trope, rooted in centuries-old stereotypes used to dehumanize Black Americans.
After White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the post, it appears the video was deleted by midday Friday. The White House later blamed a "staffer."
A "White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down," the White House said.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate, said he hoped Trump would delete the post.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The president should remove it,” Scott said prior to its removal.
The NAACP also condemned the post, which remained on Trump's Truth Social account until Friday morning.
"Trump posting this video — especially during Black History Month— is a stark reminder of how Trump and his followers truly view people. And we’ll remember that in November," the organization stated.
Leavitt defended Trump’s post, calling it “an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from ‘The Lion King.’” She added: “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
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The video Trump shared appeared to be edited from a longer clip that placed the heads of several Democratic figures on African animals while the 1961 song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played. The portion Trump posted featured only the Obamas.
