Trump shares video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes in late-night Truth Social posting spree
President Donald Trump has shared a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes in a late-night Truth Social posting spree.
The fresh attack on the former president and first lady, whom Trump has long held a grudge against, sparked immediate outrage with users on social media describing it as “disgusting.”
It appeared as part of an unrelated video alleging debunked claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, which Trump has claimed – despite evidence to the contrary – was stolen from him.
A minute into the video, towards the end, a clip has been inserted showing the faces of the Obamas superimposed on the bodies of two great apes, animated and dancing against an apparent jungle background to the soundtrack of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The Independent has chosen not to republish the imagery.
The Obamas left the White House nine years ago, and Trump ran against then-President Joe Biden in 2020. Despite that, he has frequently included the Obamas in his attacks on Democrats.
Trump was an early champion of the birther conspiracy theory against Obama, claiming that he was not born in the United States; even after Hawaii verified Obama’s birth certificate, Trump claimed many did not believe the birth certificate was legitimate.
Comparing Black people to apes is a racist trope that has been used for centuries to dehumanise people with African heritage.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has emerged as a frequent foil to the president, slammed his “disgusting behavior” in a post on X.
“Every single Republican must denounce this,” Newsom wrote. “Now.”
Other X users quickly reacted with horror to the video, which was shared during Black History Month.
“There’s absolutely no way that any black Trump Supporters can defend this. How do you defend a white man posting images of Black people as, Monkeys,” another said.
Trump’s slew of posts around midnight canvassed a wide range of his pet topics, including multiple claims of voter fraud in various elections; video clips relating to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks; sharing a screenshot of an X post claiming Democrats were “anti-Christ, anti-family, anti-Black and anti-life”; and a video about trash collection in New York City.
Amid the barrage of grievances and conspiracy theories, he also reshared a Super Bowl ad for his Invest America initiative, the so-called “Trump accounts” for children, which will kickstart savings programs for them with the help of the federal government.
The ad shows several young people discussing their future plans, including buying homes and studying.
