The White House is pushing back against criticism after President Donald Trump posted a Truth Social video that briefly depicts former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Near the end of the 62-second clip about voting machines in the 2020 presidential election, the Obamas’ faces appear on the bodies of apes for roughly one second as The Tokens’ “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” plays. A watermark from X user @XERIAS_X — a pro-Trump account with 45,900 followers — appears over that segment.
After Trump shared the video, several high-profile figures condemned the post.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded early Friday in a statement shared with Newsweek, dismissing the backlash but not directly addressing criticism that the imagery echoed racist tropes.
“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” she said. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
Why It Matters
Obama was the first Black president of the United States, and portrayals of Black public figures as primates have a long history in racist caricature.
What To Know
Leavitt also shared a 55-second video posted by the @XERIAS_X account in October, which appears to be the source material for the version Trump later posted.
In that earlier clip, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” plays as various politicians and celebrities are portrayed as wild animals. Former Vice President Kamala Harris appears as a tortoise, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as a meerkat, and Whoopi Goldberg as a hippopotamus, while Trump is depicted as a lion.
The account behind the meme suggested Trump had seen it, sharing a screenshot of the president’s Truth Social post on X with the caption: “Hello from 2026 👋”
Trump’s social media activity has long drawn scrutiny. In 2021, he was banned from Facebook and Twitter (now X) following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. He later launched Truth Social, and his Facebook and X accounts were eventually reinstated.
Trump and his administration have also repeatedly criticized Obama in recent months. In July, Trump accused the former president of “treason” — a claim Obama’s office denied — after Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, released a report alleging Obama and members of his administration manufactured intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
That same month, Trump reposted an AI-generated video to Truth Social that showed Obama being arrested and sent to jail.
What People Are Saying
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, wrote on X in response to the clip: “Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now.”
The X account Republicans against Trump posted: “Trump just posted a video on Truth Social that includes a racist image of Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. There’s no bottom.”
What Happens Next
Obama has not publicly responded to the post or the fallout surrounding it.
