The White House has responded to criticism after Donald Trump shared a video on Truth Social that included imagery depicting former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The 62-second video, which focuses on allegations about voting machines during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, shows the Obamas’ faces briefly superimposed onto the bodies of apes near the end of the clip. The segment appears for about one second while the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” plays. A watermark from X user @XERIAS_X, a pro-Trump account, is visible over that portion of the video.
The post prompted swift backlash from political figures and commentators. Obama was the first Black president of the United States, and depictions of Black public figures as primates have long been associated with racist caricature.
“Disgusting behavior by the President,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a post reacting to the video. “Every single Republican must denounce this. Now.”
