WASHINGTON – On Thursday night, President Donald Trump posted a video on his social media account that intertwined election conspiracy allegations with offensive racist imagery depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as primates within a jungle setting. This posting provoked swift condemnation from lawmakers and public figures across party lines due to its derogatory treatment of the first Black president and his wife, both prominent Democrats.
The 62-second video, part of a series of posts made overnight by the president on his Truth Social platform, predominantly compiled footage from a conservative source alleging that votes were deliberately manipulated in key battleground states during the 2020 presidential election count. Near the video’s conclusion, at around the 60-second mark, a brief clip showed two primates with the Obamas’ faces superimposed in a manner widely deemed racist.
These particular frames derived from a longer piece circulated previously among certain conservative meme circles. Within this extended video, President Trump was characterized as "King of the Jungle," while various Democratic politicians were portrayed as assorted animals. In a notable component, Joe Biden, a white politician, appeared as a primate consuming a banana.
Responding to the controversy, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the video as sourced from an internet meme depicting Trump as the jungle’s ruler and Democrats as characters inspired by Disney’s 1994 film "The Lion King." She urged the public and media outlets to cease what she called "fake outrage" and focus on issues she perceived as more substantive for American citizens. Trump himself did not provide commentary regarding the video. The post’s timing coincided with the first week of Black History Month and soon after a presidential proclamation honoring the contributions of Black Americans to the nation’s principles of liberty, justice, and equality.
Republican Senator Tim Scott, who is Black, expressed dismay on social media, stating he hoped the video was not authentic due to its profoundly racist nature and requested its removal. Derrick Johnson, President of the NAACP, condemned the video as "blatantly racist, disgusting, and utterly despicable," suggesting that it served as a diversion from ongoing economic challenges and attention to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Johnson highlighted that Barack Obama’s name is absent from Epstein-related files and credited the former president for economic improvements during his term. Additionally, Republicans Against Trump criticized the president’s social media conduct, asserting there appeared to be "no bottom" to the behavior.
President Trump and his White House social media teams frequently share memes and artificially generated media, often dismissing critiques as trivial and positioning such content as humorous. Yet, this practice draws scrutiny for perpetuating racially charged and divisive imagery.
Scholars have long documented a disturbing tradition within the United States wherein powerful white individuals have likened Black people to animals, particularly primates, as a method of dehumanization. This practice, rooted in 18th-century cultural racism and pseudo-science, was used to justify slavery and to criminalize and marginalize freed Black communities. Notably, historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson and President Dwight Eisenhower propagated similarly offensive stereotypes in their writings and remarks. During Barack Obama’s political career, imagery portraying him as a primate circulated on merchandise, reinforcing these demeaning stereotypes.
President Trump’s record contains multiple instances of pointed personal attacks against the Obamas, including rhetoric perceived as incendiary or racist. For example, during his 2024 campaign, Trump used language accusing immigrants of "poisoning the blood" of the nation, echoing notorious dehumanizing phrases. In his previous presidential term, he referred to many developing countries, primarily Black-majority nations, with derogatory terms, later admitting to using such language. Additionally, Trump notably advanced the unfounded "birther" claim questioning President Obama’s citizenship and right to office, repeatedly demanding documentation and dismissing his Hawaii birthplace until late into the 2016 campaign when he acknowledged it yet falsely shifted blame for the allegations onto others.
As this episode adds to ongoing national discussions about race, leadership, and political decorum, it highlights the persistent challenges in balancing freedom of expression with accountability for racially sensitive or inflammatory content promoted by high-profile figures.