Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
U.S. President Donald Trump posted a racially offensive video on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Friday that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, triggering widespread condemnation before the video was deleted roughly 12 hours later.
The short clip promoted false claims that voting machines were used to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Near the end of the video, the faces of Barack and Michelle Obama briefly appeared superimposed onto the bodies of apes in a jungle setting, accompanied by the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The imagery echoed long-standing racist stereotypes that liken Black people to primates, drawing immediate criticism from political leaders, civil rights advocates, and media figures.
The post sparked outrage across social media platforms, with critics describing it as openly racist and unbecoming of a former president. In response to the backlash, the White House sought to downplay the incident. In a statement to CNN on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the reaction as “fake outrage,” claiming the video was taken from an online parody portraying Trump as the “king of the jungle” and Democrats as characters from the film The Lion King.
“Please stop with the fake outrage and talk about something that actually matters to the American people,” Leavitt said.
Political leaders from across the country condemned the video. The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom denounced the post in a statement on X, calling it “disgusting behavior from the president” and urging Republican officials to publicly condemn it.
Later on Friday, the video was removed from Trump’s Truth Social account. A senior White House official told CNN that the post had been shared “by mistake” by a staff member late Thursday and was subsequently taken down once the error was discovered. Despite that explanation, the video remained publicly accessible for approximately 12 hours.
The incident is the latest in a series of controversies involving Trump’s sharing of racially charged or manipulated content online. Last year, Trump posted what appeared to be an AI-generated video depicting Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office. In another instance, Trump and members of his circle shared altered images and videos of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a fake mustache and a Mexican-style hat, content that Jeffries publicly described as racist.
The repeated circulation of such material has intensified scrutiny of Trump’s use of social media and raised broader concerns about racial rhetoric, disinformation, and the normalization of extremist or offensive content in American political discourse. Critics argue that these episodes contribute to further polarization and undermine efforts to address racism and political violence in the United States, while supporters often dismiss the controversies as satire or political provocation.
As the 2024 election cycle continues, the episode adds to the growing debate over accountability, platform responsibility, and the role of inflammatory content in shaping the political climate.
