Viral Racist Video of the Obamas Sparks Outrage Against Trump
DONALD TRUMP – The U.S. President faced strong criticism after sharing a racist video on Truth Social showing former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The video, which falsely claimed voter fraud in the 2020 election, was posted late Thursday night and remained online for nearly 12 hours before being taken down. Trump said he only saw the beginning of the video, which discussed alleged voter fraud, and blamed a staffer for not watching the full clip. When asked if he would apologize, he refused, insisting he did nothing wrong.
The post received immediate backlash from both Democrats and some Republicans. GOP Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, called the video racist and urged its removal. Other Republican lawmakers, including Representatives Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota and Senators Pete Ricketts and Roger Wicker, also demanded an apology. The White House initially downplayed the issue, calling it “fake outrage,” but later stated that a staffer had posted the video by mistake. Some Trump allies suggested the staffer should be fired.
The offensive clip appeared at the end of a longer video promoting false claims about the election, showing the Obamas’ faces on apes while a short segment of the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played. The imagery echoed a well-known racist stereotype, drawing anger from political leaders and the public. The video was just one of several posts Trump shared that night, including other misleading claims about the 2020 election and attacks on Democrats.
This incident is part of a pattern of Trump sharing controversial or racially offensive content targeting political opponents, including Black leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Despite the criticism, neither Trump nor the White House apologized, showing a continued unwillingness to take responsibility for offensive posts.