Trump takes video depicting Obamas as monkeys after swift criticism

The post was up for around 12 hours before being deleted.

The post garnered rare criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) called on Trump to remove it earlier on Friday.

“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” Scott posted on X. “The President should remove it.”

The video Trump posted on his Truth Social account was largely about election counting technology but concluded with a few seconds showing an apparent AI-generated image of the Obamas’ faces photoshopped onto two monkeys, a racist trope.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) joined Scott in calling on the President to delete the video.

“The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered,” Lawler wrote on X. 

Many Democratic leaders across the House, Senate, and state governments have denounced Trump’s repost. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland under former President Obama, called Trump, “unwell.”

“Donald Trump greets the first week of Black History Month with one of the most racist things he’s ever posted. This man is unwell,” Beyer wrote on X.

Before taking it down, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s initial response said the video was an internet meme relating to The Lion King.

“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the king of the jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King,” Leavitt said. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”

The clip from Trump’s post is not from Disney’s The Lion King, as the movie does not feature gorillas.

Naomi Lim contributed to this report.