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President Donald Trump deleted a Truth Social post after widespread outrage over a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as primates.
The late-night post, shared Thursday, Feb. 5, featured a 62-second video promoting false conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, including unfounded claims that voting machines were manipulated. In the final seconds, images of primates appeared with the Obamas' smiling faces superimposed, while the opening notes of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" played.
The imagery immediately sparked condemnation, invoking a long-standing racist trope used to dehumanize Black people — a tactic frequently directed at the nation's first Black president and first lady during their time in the White House. The post circulated during Black History Month, further intensifying criticism.
Initially, the White House downplayed the backlash. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed criticism as "fake outrage," describing the video as part of an internet meme portraying Trump as the "King of the Jungle." Hours later, the administration reversed course.
"A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down," a White House official said in a statement. The administration did not identify the staffer or say whether disciplinary action would follow.
Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in condemning the post. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Trump ally and the only Black Republican in the Senate, called it "the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House" and urged its removal. Reps. Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota of New York also publicly criticized the video, with Lawler calling it "wrong and incredibly offensive" and saying an apology was necessary.
Behind the scenes, the post sent the White House into damage-control mode, with officials and allies emphasizing that Trump was unaware the video had been shared and working to distance him from the content.
Neither Trump nor the White House has issued an apology.
