President Donald Trump posted a video on Truth Social showing former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as monkeys, drawing condemnation from both parties.
Trump’s Racist Post
President of the United States Donald Trump on Thursday evening (February 5) posted on Truth Social a recording that showed the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as monkeys in the jungle. The White House initially ignored voices of outrage and criticism, calling them “false”.
Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement sent to CNN evaluated that the scenes from the animation “present President Trump as the king of the jungle, and Democrats as characters from The Lion King”. “Please, stop pretending to be outraged and report something that really matters to the American public,” she wrote.
White House Employee Reportedly Posted Mistakenly
However, on Friday morning local time, CNN received a message from its source that “a White House employee mistakenly posted this post and it has been taken down.” This was reportedly a reaction to the strong objection of Republican Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate.
“I pray this is not true because this is the most racist thing I have seen in this White House administration. The President should remove it,” wrote the South Carolina Republican. In an earlier post, Scott emphasized that in the United States and Canada, February is Black History Month.
Voices of Outrage from Democrats and Republicans
“Even if it was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person would see the racist context. The White House should do what everyone does when they make a mistake: delete the post and apologize,” wrote Republican Senator Pete Ricketts.
On the official profile of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), there was also a protest and political warning. “Trump posting this film – especially during Black History Month – is a stark reminder of how Trump and his supporters really perceive people. And we will remember this in November,” it reads.
Obama Criticized ICE Actions
CNN requested comment from Barack and Michelle Obama, but did not receive any by Friday afternoon. At the end of January, the former president published a warning about the killings of two citizens by ICE agents in Minnesota.
“More and more Americans are expressing outrage at the tactics used by federal agents in Minnesota. However, it is important to understand the broader implications of this administration’s actions and the threat they pose to the basic freedoms of every American,” he wrote. Earlier, he published a joint statement with his wife Michelle Obama on the killing of Alex Prettie, calling it a “devastating tragedy.”
