Warning: This article contains discussion of racial discrimination which some readers may find distressing.
The American President has come under fire for posting a ‘racist’ video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys on Truth Social.
On Friday 6 February, the US President shared a minute-long conspiracy video which repeated the false accusations that Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the 2020 presidential election.
Yet, at the end of the clip, around the 59-second mark, an AI-generated image of the Obamas’ faces superimposed onto monkeys’ bodies suddenly appears as the song ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ plays.
As of this morning, the video has been liked thousands of times on the social media platform.
Still, it’s been met with far more backlash, with people from around the world rushing to X to slam the ‘disgusting’ and ‘racist’ post.
One X user penned: “Trump just posted a video on Truth Social that includes a racist image of Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. There’s no bottom.”
Meanwhile a second raged: “Trump posted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. Incredibly racist and disgusting. Beneath the office of the presidency, like everything he does. Every American must condemn this.”
And a third and fourth wrote: “What a disgraceful administration” and “This is so racist wtf is wrong with him”.
“How disrespectful and racist trump needs to GO,” demanded someone else, while another social media user agreed: “Racism at its peak. America’s why did you elect him??”
The White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has since responded to the situation, telling LADbible Group: “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
In addition to the general public, politicians and high-profile figures have also publicly condemned the post.
Gavin Newsom, the California governor who is also a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, wrote: “Disgusting behaviour by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now.”
