Donald Trump‘s social media activity has always been headline-worthy, whether he retweets a controversial post or pens a lengthy Truth Social paragraph. But the 79-year-old’s since-deleted Truth Social video of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama sparked outrage, even from fellow Republicans, about its racist undertone. The video was shared to the Republican’s account on Thursday, February 5, before it was removed on Friday.
The clip focused on baseless election fraud claims about the 2020 presidential election, which former President Joe Biden won. At the end of the video, a segment of Barack, 64, and Michelle, 62, appeared as cartoon apes, and it was synced to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
Any imagery comparing a Black person to an ape has been a long-standing racist trope. February is Black History Month, which recognizes the achievements, contributions and milestones by Black Americans. Barack, for his part, was the first Black president in American history.
Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it. https://t.co/gADoM13ssZ
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) February 6, 2026
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the Truth Social video in a text, per PBS, as just an “internet meme” comparing Donald to the King of the Jungle from Disney’s 1994 movie 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, 28, said. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
Nevertheless, just before noon ET, the clip was taken down. An official told CNN in a statement that the video was an error by an unnamed staffer.
“A White House staffer erroneously made the post,” the statement read. “It has been taken down.”
The clip sparked widespread outrage across the nation. South Carolina junior Senator Tim Scott, who is the only Black Republican in the Senate, called the post the “most racist thing” he had seen from the White House.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” Scott, 60, tweeted, adding, “The President should remove it.”
Barack and Michelle have yet to publicly comment on the since-deleted video.
Read the full article here
