President Trump slams staff, denies seeing footage
Trump said from Air Force One that he only watched the first part of the video, which focused on allegations of voter fraud, and did not see the frame showing the Obamas, according to CNN. “Normally they look into everything. But I think someone posted it instead. As soon as we found out about it, we took it down,” he said.
blame the staff for the post
Trump said he gave the video to his team, adding: “Normally they would check everything, but maybe someone didn’t and posted it. We deleted it as soon as we learned about it.”
“I didn’t make a mistake.”
The president insisted the responsibility was on his staff and refused to apologize, saying, “I didn’t make a mistake. I mean, we’re considering thousands of things.” However, he condemned the offensive images, saying: “Of course I do.”
Internet Meme”
Much of the 62-second video pushed false claims of voter fraud, and near the end included a brief frame of the Obamas’ faces on a jungle primate. The clip grew out of a conservative meme depicting President Trump as the “king of the jungle” and Democratic leaders, including Joe Biden, as animals.
controversy sparks political storm
The video drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Democratic leaders called it “despicable” and “disgusting bigotry,” and Republican Sen. Tim Scott, a 2024 presidential candidate, called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen in this White House.”
Sen. Roger Wicker called the post “totally unacceptable” and called on President Trump to apologize.
White House response
The White House initially dismissed the outrage, describing the video as a meme video referencing “The Lion King,” but acknowledged that a staffer had posted it in error.
Spokeswoman Caroline Levitt dismissed early criticism as “false outrage” and described the video as an “Internet meme”. By midday, the post had been removed and Trump’s staffers were held accountable.
There was no immediate comment from the Obamas.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Congressional leaders have highlighted a divisive pattern of racist comments by President Trump, who previously promoted a “birther” conspiracy against Barack Obama, and demanded accountability.
AI and social media strategy
Trump has often used AI-generated visuals and other surreal content on Truth Social to glorify himself or attack his opponents. Critics say the posts reflect a broader pattern of stirring up racial tensions while undermining federal anti-discrimination programs.
