US President Donald Trump has once again ignited a storm of controversy with a recent social media post.
Sky News interrupted its regular programming to report on the matter after Trump, 79, shared a post that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. The White House later admitted a staffer was “wrong” to share the post, which was subsequently removed.
Presenter Jonathan Samuels reported: “After initially dismissing the reaction as ‘fake outrage,’ the White House has now acknowledged that a staffer wrongly posted the content, and it has been taken down.” Sky News US correspondent Mark Stone added that the backlash was entirely justified and emphasized that the news team would not be sharing the offensive image from Trump’s Truth Social account.
The controversy comes amid a series of events surrounding Trump and his inner circle, including recent reports highlighting Melania Trump’s comments on her latest film and the president’s alarming encounters with would-be attackers, like Ryan Routh. These incidents have only added fuel to the public debate about his behavior and decision-making.
Stone explained: “We did show it earlier because it had not yet been removed from the account. It remained online for roughly 12 hours. The image is deeply offensive. It appears at the end of a video about alleged electoral fraud in the 2020 election and is presented as a screen recording that transitions into this image of the Obamas.”
He also noted that the White House initially “owned the moment” and refused to delete the post. Following widespread outrage, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement claiming: “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the king of the jungle and the Democrats as characters from the Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something that actually matters to the American public.”
The public response, however, forced the White House to release a follow-up statement confirming: “A White House staffer erroneously made the post, and it has been taken down.”
Stone questioned why a staffer had access to Trump’s Truth Social account late at night, noting: “Between 11:45 p.m. and just after 5 a.m., more than 70 posts appeared on the president’s account covering various topics, including a meme about a dog. Read into that what you will.”
Senator Tim Scott, the Senate’s only Black Republican and a close Trump ally, also commented on the post, saying: “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I have seen from this White House. The president should remove it.”
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