President Donald Trump posted then deleted a video on Truth Social that depicted former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Many on both sides of the aisle criticized the post, per The Hill.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the only Black Republican senator, posted on X, “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it.”
The White House initially said the video was from a meme related to “The Lion King” in which Trump is the king of the jungle and Democrats are characterized as various animals.
However, by midday Friday, the video was taken down, and a White House official said it was posted by mistake.
“A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down,” the White House official said.
An ally of Trump’s said the president did not know about the video before it was posted. The official said the staffer “really let the president down” by posting the video.
The complete video focused on an unsubstantiated voting fraud theory seeking to explain “some of the anomalies that we noticed in the 2020 general elections.”
In the last couple of seconds, the video flashed to a scene with the Obamas’ heads superimposed on primates’ bodies. With their mouths wide open, the Obamas’ heads bounced along to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” from “The Lion King.”
Many — like Scott — have voiced their disapproval of the video.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, posted on X, “This is totally unacceptable. The president should take it down and apologize.”
GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) also slammed the post.
“Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this,” he wrote on X. “The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the highest-ranking Black Democrat in the lower chamber, called Trump “vile.”
“President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans. They represent the best of this country,” he posted on X. “Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder.”
“Why are GOP leaders like John Thune continuing to stand by this sick individual?” he added “Every single Republican must immediately denounce Donald Trump’s disgusting bigotry.”
Ben Rhodes, a former Obama White House official, called Trump “a stain on our history.”
“Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history,” he wrote on X.
At first, the White House dismissed the criticism.
“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public,” she added.
