Republican Senator Leads Outrage Over Trump's Obama Ape Video
President Donald Trump has ignited a firestorm of controversy by sharing a video on Truth Social that portrays former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. The clip, which features the Obamas' faces superimposed onto apes in a jungle setting with the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" playing, was posted on Thursday night and has drawn swift condemnation from across the political spectrum.
White House Dismisses Criticism as 'Fake Outrage'
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt quickly moved to downplay the video, describing it as a harmless internet meme. "This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King," Leavitt told Newsweek. "Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public." The video carried a watermark from X user @XERIAS_X, a Trump-supporting meme account with 46,000 followers.
GOP Senator Tim Scott Calls It 'Most Racist Thing'
Despite the White House's dismissal, the video faced immediate backlash, with Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina leading the charge. Scott, a close ally of Trump, expressed his dismay on social media platform X. "Praying it was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House," Scott wrote. "The President should remove it." As of Friday morning, the video remained active on Trump's Truth Social page, and the White House had not responded to further requests for comment from The Independent.
Democrats Label Video Disgusting and Abhorrent
Democratic lawmakers were particularly vocal in their condemnation. Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, denounced the post on X, stating, "Donald Trump had the racist, bigoted audacity to post an AI-generated video depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. While his behavior is not shocking, it is certainly disgusting and disturbing." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the video as "Racist, Vile, and Abhorrent," while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Trump an "unhinged and malignant bottom feeder."
Republican Deflection and Questions of Moral Courage
Some Democrats questioned whether their Republican colleagues would demonstrate the "moral courage" to condemn the post. In response, several GOP lawmakers appeared to deflect. When asked by CNN to justify the video, Representative Mike Haridopolos, a Florida Republican, claimed he had not seen it. "Well, I've not seen that video to you, just showed it to me," he said. When pressed further, Haridopolos added, "Well, I'll take a look at it right after our show... You kind of threw it at me right here." This evasion highlighted the partisan divide over the incident, with many Republicans remaining silent or dismissive amidst the growing outcry.
