Trump Removes Video Containing Racist Clip Depicting Obamas as Apes After Backlash
US President Donald Trump has removed a social media video that included a racist clip depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, following swift backlash from lawmakers and civil rights groups.
The clip appeared at the end of a 62-second video posted on Trump’s Truth Social account that largely promoted false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The final seconds featured imagery widely condemned as racist caricatures of Black people.
Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, a close Trump ally, urged the president to take down the video, calling it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.”
The White House initially defended the post, describing it as part of an “internet meme video,” but later removed it as criticism intensified. A White House official said the video had been posted in error by a staff member.
Other Republicans also condemned the post, including New York Representative Mike Lawler, who called it “wrong and incredibly offensive,” and Utah Senator John Curtis, who described it as “blatantly racist and inexcusable.”
Civil rights leaders responded sharply. NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the video was “disgusting and utterly despicable.”
The Obamas have not commented publicly. The episode adds to Trump’s long history of attacking Obama, including his past promotion of the false “birther” conspiracy theory.
