White House Defends Trump After Backlash Over Video Featuring Obamas As Monkeys
The White House has responded to mounting criticism after President Donald Trump shared a video on Truth Socialthat briefly depicted former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The 62-second clip, which centers on claims of irregularities in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, includes a fleeting scene near the end where the Obamas’ faces appear superimposed on ape-like figures dancing to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The imagery appears for roughly one second and carries a watermark linked to a pro-Trump account on X.
The post quickly sparked outrage, with critics pointing out that portraying Black public figures as primates is a long-standing racist trope. California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the video, calling it “disgusting behavior” and urging Republicans to denounce it. Advocacy group Republicans Against Trump also criticised the post, describing it as racially offensive.
In response, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the backlash, though she did not directly address accusations of racial insensitivity. In a statement, she said the video was part of an internet meme portraying Trump as the “King of the Jungle,” with Democrats cast as characters from The Lion King universe.
“This is fake outrage,” Leavitt said, urging critics to focus on issues she said matter more to Americans.
She further pointed to a longer version of the video posted last year by the same account, which features various political figures represented as different animals, including Kamala Harris, Hakeem Jeffries, and Whoopi Goldberg, while Trump is depicted as a lion.
Trump’s social media activity has frequently attracted controversy. He was banned from Facebook and X following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, later launching Truth Social as an alternative platform. His accounts on major platforms were subsequently restored.
The video was shared alongside renewed claims by Trump alleging widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden, despite multiple investigations finding no evidence to support such claims. In the clip, a cybersecurity commentator alleges coordinated vote-counting pauses and the manipulation of voting machines in favor of Biden.
Trump reposted the video twice, and despite its brief appearance, the Obamas’ portrayal has continued to fuel online debate, with critics accusing the president of promoting racially charged imagery, while the White House maintains the criticism is overblown.
