Trump's Late-Night Posting Spree Includes Racist Imagery of Obamas
Fury erupted across the political spectrum early on Friday after former President Donald Trump posted a racist video on his Truth Social account that depicts Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The 79-year-old shared the clip during one of his increasingly frequent late-night posting sprees, drawing immediate and widespread condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans alike.
Video Content and Context
The controversial video shows the laughing faces of America's first Black president and his wife superimposed on the bodies of primates in a jungle setting, bobbing to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight. This racist imagery appears briefly at the end of a minute-long video created by a third party that amplifies Trump's persistent but false claim that he won the 2020 election, despite his clear loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
The conspiracy-theory video is a repost of content stamped with the logo of Patriot News Outlet, a website supportive of Trump and Republican causes. By 8:30am ET on Friday, the post had attracted approximately 4,000 likes but also generated significant outrage for including such a blatant racist trope targeting prominent Democratic figures.
Immediate Political Reactions
The press office of Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom was among the first to condemn the post on social media platform X, stating: "Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now."
Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration and current podcaster, accused Trump of outright racism. "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," Rhodes wrote in his response.
Republicans Against Trump, an alliance of party members disillusioned with the Trump administration, posted about the incident approximately thirty minutes after Trump's original midnight post. The group, which boasts over a million followers on X, shared the racist frame from the video with the comment: "BREAKING: Trump just posted a video on Truth Social that includes a racist image of Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. There's no bottom."
Historical Context and Broader Allegations
Veteran Democratic political strategist Adam Parkhomenko referenced previous allegations of racist behavior by Trump, specifically mentioning 2024 claims that Trump used racial slurs while hosting The Apprentice. "This is overt racism. Full stop," Parkhomenko declared. "There's no 'misinterpretation' and no excuse. This is who he is, who he's always been, and why he should never be anywhere near power again."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt attempted to minimize the controversy in a statement to the Guardian, linking to an October post from a separate right-wing account featuring similar content. "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 and report on something today that actually matters to the American public," Leavitt stated.
Election Fraud Claims and Legal Background
The majority of Friday's controversial post focuses on disproven claims that ballot-counting company Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the 2020 presidential election from Trump through doctored voting machines. This narrative has been thoroughly debunked by multiple investigations and court rulings.
In April 2023, Dominion Voting Systems accepted a landmark $787.5 million settlement from Fox News in a defamation lawsuit related to these false election claims. The company's legal victory underscored the baseless nature of the allegations that continue to circulate in certain political circles.
The unexplained inclusion of the racist Obama imagery at the video's conclusion has overshadowed the election fraud claims, shifting public attention to questions about racial insensitivity and appropriate political discourse in American politics.
