Donald Trump, the current President, is encountering broad condemnation from Republicans and Democrats alike after posting a video on his Truth Social account late Thursday evening that portrayed former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. 

The video—removed from Trump’s account Friday as backlash grew—contained what seemed to be an AI-created segment set to the tune of “The Lions Sleep Tonight.” This segment showed the Obamas’ faces (with mouths open) superimposed onto ape bodies in a jungle environment, and it was part of a longer video pushing conspiracy theories about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential race. 

Portraying the Obamas as apes or monkeys aligns with a centuries-old racist stereotype that has long been used to justify the dehumanization of Black people. 

The segment appears to have been taken from an October video shared on X by Xerias, a conservative meme creator. That video also depicted other high-profile Democrats as animals: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ex-President Joe Biden was shown as an ape eating a banana, while Trump was cast as a lion. 

The White House initially defended the video. “This comes from an online meme video that shows President Trump as the Jungle’s King and Democrats as Lion King characters,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told news outlets in a statement. “Please end this feigned outrage and cover stories that actually matter to the American public today.”

However, the video was later removed from Trump’s official Truth Social account, and the White House explained that a staff member had mistakenly posted it once the post sparked fury—including from several of the President’s fellow Republicans. 

“I’m praying this was fake, because it’s the most racist content I’ve ever seen from this White House. The President needs to take it down,” Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina—who is the only Black Republican in the Senate—on X this past Friday morning.  

Scott’s Republican colleagues, Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, also criticized the video and demanded it be removed, plus an apology from the President. 

“This is completely unacceptable,” Wicker .

“Even if this was a Lion King meme, any reasonable person can see the racist undertones here,” Ricketts on the platform. “The White House should do what everyone does when they mess up: take this down and say sorry.”

Another GOP legislator, Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, “wrong and extremely offensive—whether intentional or accidental—and recommended it “should be deleted immediately, with an apology offered.”

Many Democrats—including the party’s leaders in both the House and Senate—also sharply criticized the video Friday and urged Republicans to denounce the President’s post publicly. 

“Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are intelligent, caring, and patriotic Americans who embody the best of our nation. Donald Trump is a repulsive, unstable, and harmful lowlife,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on X. 

Urging Republicans to react, Jeffries singled out the Senate Majority Leader: “Why are GOP leaders like John Thune still supporting this twisted individual? Every Republican must immediately condemn Donald Trump’s repulsive prejudice.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the video as “Racist. Vile. Abhorrent.” 

“This is dangerous and lowers our country’s standing—where are the Senate Republicans?” the Democratic leader on X. He insisted Trump apologize to the Obamas, referring to the former President and First Lady as “two outstanding Americans who make Donald Trump seem like a petty, jealous person.”

“As someone who grew up during the civil rights movement, I am utterly disgusted,” Democratic Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi. “Donald Trump has spent years openly spreading hatred, bigotry, and division, and this racist act is just another sign of who he really is. I’d say this is a new low, but those who know him know there’s no bottom. Shame on him.”

Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee—where Thompson serves as ranking member—also reacted with angry criticism, labeling Trump a “deranged racist” and his presidency “a permanent blemish on the nation.”

“Every Republican ought to be made to look at that image and defend it publicly,” the committee’s Democrats on X.

Outside Washington, DC, multiple state officials and civil rights groups also joined the chorus of condemnation against Trump’s post. 

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker—a vocal and strong critic of Trump—stated in a brief , “Donald Trump is a racist.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom—another vocal Trump critic who has mentioned considering a 2028 presidential run—also weighed in. Newsom’s press team referred to Scott as “basically the only Republican with courage” in a on X and added: “Republicans are so weak—they can’t even stand up against something like this! It’s pathetic!”

The NAACP pointed out that Trump’s sharing of the video happened during Black History Month, describing the President’s post as “a clear reminder of how Trump and his supporters really see people.” 

“And we’ll keep that in mind come November,” the organization on X.

Trump has a lengthy record of targeting former President Obama. He frequently made false claims that Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. and thus ineligible to hold the presidency, amplifying the so-called “birther” conspiracy theory. At other times, though, he has acknowledged Obama was born in America. 

In 2019, the House—then controlled by Democrats—passed a resolution condemning Trump for “racist comments” after he tweeted that four female lawmakers of color should return to their “broken and crime-ridden” home countries, even though all four were U.S. citizens (three of whom were born in the U.S.). 

Former First Lady Michelle Obama criticized Trump harshly and talked about the racism she and her husband faced in a at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. 

“For years, Donald Trump did everything he could to make people afraid of us,” she stated. “His small, narrow worldview made him feel threatened by two hardworking, well-educated, successful people who just happen to be Black.”

The Obamas have yet to comment on the video or Trump’s decision to share it on his account.