Trump Withdraws Controversial Video Featuring Racist Imagery of Obamas

Fri Feb 06 2026 23:21:11 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a swift response to backlash within and outside the Republican Party, President Trump has retracted a social media video that included a racist clip portraying Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, marking a significant controversy amid ongoing discussions about race and politics.

Following widespread outrage, including criticism from Republican Senator Tim Scott and civil rights leaders, President Trump has removed a video from his social media account that contained an offensive clip depicting the Obamas as animals. The video originally included claims about voter fraud. This incident highlights ongoing debates around race, representation, and political messaging in the United States.

US President Donald Trump has removed a social media video which included a racist clip depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.

The clip - set to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight - was at the end of a 62-second video containing claims about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Republican Senator Tim Scott - who is black - had called for the president to remove the post, describing it as the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House.

The White House initially defended the clip as an internet meme video and told critics to stop the fake outrage.

The clip - which is reminiscent of racist caricatures comparing black people to monkeys - appears to be taken from an X post shared by conservative meme creator Xerias in October.

Trump's predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden, also is depicted as an ape eating a banana.

The Obamas have yet to comment on the video.

While the president offered no comment in his post, his sharing of the video - one of dozens posted on his Truth Social account overnight - sparked a fierce backlash.

Some criticism came from within Trump's own party.

Senator Scott, a black South Carolina Republican and an ally of Trump, posted that he was praying it was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House. The President should remove it, he added.

In a statement sent to the BBC, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the clip is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public, she added.

Later on Friday, a White House official said that a staffer erroneously made the post, which has since been taken down.

Trump also has a long history of criticizing and attacking Obama, who he falsely claimed was ineligible to be president due to birth location before acknowledging Obama was born in the US.