Trump Responds to Obama Ape Video Controversy with Celebrity Montages
Days after widespread condemnation of his Truth Social post portraying Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, President Donald Trump has reposted several videos featuring himself alongside prominent Black Americans. The move appears designed to counter accusations of racism following the inflammatory ape imagery that sparked bipartisan criticism last week.
Celebrity Timeline and Defensive Captions
On Wednesday morning, the 79-year-old Republican president shared a video montage showing him with numerous high-profile Black figures. The compilation included civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks, and Al Sharpton; musicians Michael Jackson, P. Diddy, 50 Cent, and Snoop Dogg; boxers Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali; and television personalities Oprah Winfrey, Omarosa Manigault Newman, and Will Smith.
The video was captioned "A timeline of Trump's bigotry" with Trump adding the commentary: "How quickly people forget. So sad!" This defensive posture marked his response to the growing controversy surrounding the ape depiction of the former first couple.
Additional Videos Highlight Alleged Relationships
Trump also shared three additional videos emphasizing his purported friendships and support for Black celebrities. One video claimed that "No one realized that 30 years ago, Donald Trump saved Mike Tyson's life," suggesting Trump had managed the boxer's career and brought him to fame.
However, Tyson himself has previously contradicted this narrative in an interview with The Daily Caller, stating: "We're really good friends. We go back to '86, '87. Most of my successful and best fights were at Trump's hotels. He didn't manage me, though. He was just helping me with my court case." Tyson was referencing his 1992 rape trial, which resulted in a guilty verdict and three-year prison sentence.
Another video asserted that "If there was one person Donald Trump stayed loyal to it was Michael Jackson," featuring old interviews where Trump defended the singer against child molestation accusations. Jackson was acquitted of these charges in 2005 after a lengthy trial, and Trump has continued to support him publicly, tweeting in 2015 that "Michael was very misunderstood - a great talent."
Oprah Appearance and Political Context
The president additionally reposted a clip from his 1988 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where he discussed running for president. The caption claimed: "Oprah wanted Donald Trump to run for president in 1988 on the same exact policies he holds today."
This contrasts with Winfrey's actual political endorsements, which have consistently favored Democratic candidates including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Kamala Harris. In 2024, Winfrey told a Harris campaign audience: "If we don't show up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to cast a ballot again."
Original Controversy and White House Response
Trump's flurry of reposts comes six days after he shared the controversial video on Truth Social that superimposed Barack and Michelle Obama's faces onto apes in a jungle setting. The clip, appended to another video about voter fraud, triggered immediate backlash across the political spectrum.
Senator Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican and Trump ally, was among those criticizing the post, writing 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."
Texas Democrat Representative Jasmine Crockett added: "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."
Evolving White House Explanations
Initially, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the video as harmless, telling The Independent: "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."
As criticism intensified, the administration shifted its explanation. An official later stated that a staff member—not Trump himself—had "erroneously made the post." The video was deleted from Trump's Truth Social account approximately twelve hours after publication, though the White House declined to identify the responsible staffer when questioned by The Independent.
Trump's Refusal to Apologize
During a press gaggle on Friday, Trump refused to apologize for the post, insisting he is "the least racist president you've had in a long time" and blaming a staffer for the oversight. He explained: "I looked at it. I saw it, and I just looked at the first part. It was about voter fraud. I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of picture that people don't like, I wouldn't like it either, but I didn't see it."
The president's decision to follow the controversial ape video with montages of himself with Black celebrities represents his latest approach to addressing accusations of racism that have periodically surfaced throughout his political career. The strategy highlights the ongoing tension between Trump's self-proclaimed relationships with prominent Black Americans and the persistent criticism of racially insensitive behavior from his administration.
