Donald Trump has refused to apologize after his social media account shared a racially offensive video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as primates.
The issue surfaced late Friday night as Trump boarded Air Force One, where reporters asked him directly about the post. Instead of expressing regret, the president brushed it off, saying, “I didn’t make a mistake.”
The video, which appeared on Trump’s Truth Social account Thursday night, showed the former president and first lady superimposed onto images of jungle primates. Although the post was deleted by Friday afternoon, the damage had already been done. The clip triggered immediate backlash from civil rights advocates and even several veteran Republican senators, who condemned the imagery as deeply offensive toward the nation’s first Black president and first lady.
After the post was taken down, the White House claimed a staff member had shared it accidentally. That explanation only fueled more controversy, raising fresh questions about who actually controls Trump’s social media accounts. Before the removal, press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the criticism as “fake outrage,” urging the media to focus on issues she claimed mattered more to the public.
The post was part of a flurry of overnight activity in which Trump’s account once again amplified false claims that the 2020 election was stolen claims that have been repeatedly investigated and debunked, with no evidence of widespread or systemic fraud found.
A spokesperson for Barack Obama said he would not respond to the video.
The timing of the post drew additional scrutiny. It appeared during the first week of Black History Month, just days after Trump had publicly praised the contributions of Black Americans and referenced ideals such as liberty, justice, and equality.
The Obamas’ images appeared briefly about a minute into a 62-second clip. Most of the video consisted of recycled conservative content alleging election interference in key battleground states. The segment involving the Obamas originated from a separate meme previously circulated by a prominent right-wing content creator. That meme portrayed Trump as the “King of the Jungle” while casting Democratic leaders as animals, including Joe Biden shown as a primate eating a banana.
Leavitt defended the post by claiming it was inspired by a meme comparing Trump to a dominant character from The Lion King. However, critics quickly pointed out that Disney’s 1994 film is set on the African savannah not in a jungle and does not feature great apes.
Despite calls for accountability, the White House maintained that the post was removed once the issue was identified, again blaming a staffer.
Trump later told reporters that he shared the video because he believed it focused on election fraud. “I liked the beginning,” he said, adding that he hadn’t reviewed the full clip before reposting it. When asked whether he condemned the racist imagery, he replied, “Of course I do.”
Still, the explanation failed to ease concerns. Trump’s social media platforms have long been used to announce policy decisions, threaten tariffs, issue military warnings, and attack political opponents. While Trump sometimes signs or initials posts he personally writes, there is no clear public system indicating who authors each message.
As of now, the White House has not clarified how posts are reviewed or how the public can reliably distinguish between messages written by the president himself and those posted by staff.
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