Donald Trump Removed Racist Video After Outcry

In recent headlines, Donald Trump created a stir by sharing a controversial video on Truth Social. This video took aim at former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, forcing Trump to eventually delete the post due to a flood of criticism from both sides of the political aisle.

Despite the widespread disapproval, Trump has publicly stated that he sees no reason to express regret over the incident. The uproar took off late Thursday night when Trump reposted a video initially crafted by a group known as the Patriot News Outlet. This clip made unsubstantiated claims that technology to manipulate the 2020 election results in Michigan had been exposed. Though Trump has repeatedly voiced concerns about electoral fraud, no solid evidence has ever been provided to back these claims.

A Video with a Disturbing Twist

Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it. https://t.co/gADoM13ssZ

— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) February 6, 2026

Initially, the video seemed to present a serious discussion on voting discrepancies. However, toward its conclusion, it took a disparaging turn. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens started playing, while digitally altered images placed Barack and Michelle Obama’s faces onto cartoon monkeys in an imaginary jungle.

The video quickly sparked outrage across various social media channels, worsened by its release during Black History Month. Many observers noted the vicious nature of depicting Black individuals as primates, a historical tool used for insult and dehumanization—an indignity that the Obamas faced even during their tenure in the White House.

Condemnation was swift and came from a broad political spectrum, including from well-known Republican figures like Tim Scott, who urged for the post’s removal.

The White House’s Response

While the controversy simmered, the White House’s initial remarks seemed to downplay the incident.

A White House representative suggested the post had been erroneously shared by a staff member and was thus removed. Later, in a press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended against what she termed as politically driven outrage.

She characterized the video as a meme from the Internet that likened Trump to the “King of the Jungle” and portrayed Democrats as characters from the beloved film The Lion King. She called on the media to cease the “fake outrage” and concentrate on pressing matters for the American populace. Critics, however, pointed out flaws in her statement, noting that the original meme did not include any depiction of characters as primates and that The Lion King features no ape characters except for Rafiki, who is a mandrill, not in any way analogous to the offensive imagery used.

Trump’s Take on the Matter

In a further address about the matter, Trump spoke to reporters, saying he denounced the racist elements within the video, despite maintaining his innocence in the situation.

While aboard Air Force One, Trump confessed he had only viewed the beginning of the video. “I looked at the beginning of it—it seemed alright,” he stated, mentioning that the opening parts involved discussions of alleged voter fraud and the use of voting machines. Continuing, he suggested that the video might have been shared in haste by someone else without a thorough review and confirmed that the post was taken down as soon as they identified the inappropriate content.