Jeffries Calls Trump Obama‑Ape Video Evidence of a 'Bigoted and Racist Regime'
President Trump reposted a Truth Social video that largely recycled debunked 2020 election‑fraud conspiracy claims and briefly superimposed Barack and Michelle Obama’s faces on apes; the clip — reportedly a shortened version of an AI‑style meme — was initially defended by the White House as an “internet meme,” then said to have been “erroneously” posted by a staffer and was removed after roughly 12 hours. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called Trump’s behavior “disgusting” and defended his own expletive response, while Congressional Black Caucus chair Rep. Yvette Clarke labeled the episode evidence of a “bigoted and racist regime,” and the post drew rare bipartisan rebukes including from Sen. Tim Scott.
📌 Key Facts
- The clip was a roughly 62‑second video that primarily recycled debunked 2020 election‑fraud/Dominion conspiracy material; the racist primate depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama was spliced in at about the 60‑second mark. The original October 2025 AI‑style meme portrayed multiple Democrats as animals and Trump as a lion, but the version reposted by Trump included only the Obamas as primates.
- The White House initially defended the post as an 'internet meme' — framing it as a 'King of the Jungle'/'Lion King' joke and calling criticism 'fake outrage' — then said a staffer 'erroneously' posted the clip after public backlash.
- The repost remained on Truth Social for roughly 12 hours before it was removed after widespread criticism; President Trump said he 'didn't see the whole thing,' said staffers generally review posts, and refused to apologize while calling himself 'the least racist president.'
- There was broad bipartisan and intra‑GOP condemnation: Republican critics included Sen. Tim Scott (who called it 'the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House'), Sens. Pete Ricketts, Roger Wicker, Dan Sullivan, Katie Britt and multiple House Republicans; Democratic leaders including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded deletion and an apology.
- Civil‑rights and Black congressional leaders sharply condemned the repost: Rep. Yvette Clarke (CBC chair) called it evidence of a 'bigoted and racist regime,' the NAACP weighed in, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Trump's behavior 'disgusting' while defending his own viral 'F—k Donald Trump' response as a clear reaction to the post.
- News reports and historians note that ape/monkey depictions of Black people are a longstanding racial slur and that similar imagery in the past has led to firings and resignations; mainstream outlets treated the Obama image as dehumanizing, not ambiguous satire.
- The clip amplified conspiracy claims central to prior high‑profile defamation litigation and to findings that the 2020 results were not overturned (including DOJ review under former AG Bill Barr), placing the repost in a broader context of repeated false election claims.
- Reporting traced the content to a specific pro‑Trump account on X and documented that the White House's social‑media operation can be highly unstructured, with officials saying there is no strict approval process and that 'everyone has their own lane' — a condition cited in explanations for how the offensive clip was posted.
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
White Culture and its Discontents
"An opinion piece reading the Trump reposted Obama‑ape video as symptomatic of entrenched white cultural dehumanization, arguing that the meme and the mainstream reactions to it expose structural racism that demands political and institutional accountability rather than mere episodic outrage."
📰 Source Timeline (23)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 08, 2026
February 07, 2026
5:28 PM
Hakeem Jeffries blasts Trump’s racist Obama video: ‘His behavior is disgusting’
New information:
- Jeffries, in an MS NOW interview, says Trump’s behavior is 'disgusting' and that if he isn’t a racist, 'he’s certainly doing the best job that he can trying to convince us otherwise.'
- Jeffries explicitly defends his viral 'F—k Donald Trump' video as a 'clear-throated' response to the racist post.
- The piece details the White House’s shifting explanations: initially calling the ape depiction a 'Lion King' reference, then claiming a staffer 'erroneously' posted the video, and Leavitt later dismissing the backlash as a 'distraction for the fake news media.'
- It catalogs additional GOP reactions, including Rep. Don Bacon saying 'most Americans demand better,' and more muted criticism from Reps. John James, Jeff Van Drew and Byron Donalds.
4:14 PM
Congressional Black Caucus chair says Trump's post on the Obamas shows a 'bigoted and racist regime'
New information:
- Rep. Yvette Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, told AP the video showed 'a bigoted and racist regime' and said it was 'very clear that there was an intent to harm people, to hurt people, with this video.'
- Clarke said there has been no outreach from the White House to the CBC and that any such outreach would have needed to occur before, not after, 'these type of juvenile antics.'
- She framed the deletion as 'political expediency' rather than moral remorse, quoting her mother: 'Too late. Mercy’s gone,' and warned that Black children seeing the president’s post will be harmed in how they view national leadership.
- Clarke linked sharper Republican criticism to approaching elections, saying GOP lawmakers know that aligning with the post means 'throwing their lot in with an individual who has shown himself to be a disgrace.'
3:30 PM
Trump refuses to apologize for social media post, says he's "the least racist president"
New information:
- Trump, when asked by reporters, explicitly refused to apologize for reposting the video that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.
- In the same exchange, Trump said he is 'the least racist president you’ve had in a long time,' doubling down rather than expressing regret.
1:02 AM
Trump says he "didn't see" image depicting Obamas as apes in social media post
New information:
- Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he 'just looked at the first part' of the video and 'didn't see the whole thing,' saying he did not see the racist depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes at the end.
- He said he handed the video off to 'the people' (staff), who 'generally' review the whole thing but 'somebody didn't' this time before posting it to his Truth Social account.
- Trump said the post was taken down 'as soon as we found out about it' and that he 'wouldn't like' the racist image either, framing the inclusion as inadvertent.
1:00 AM
Trump faces backlash over racist video portraying the Obamas as apes
New information:
- Confirms CBS as an additional major outlet documenting that the White House removed the reposted video.
- Emphasizes that the CBS segment frames the clip explicitly as an "election‑conspiracy" video containing racist footage of the Obamas as apes.
- Notes that CBS highlights backlash from "some members of his own party," reinforcing and broadening the record of GOP criticism already reported elsewhere.
February 06, 2026
11:50 PM
News Wrap: Trump's racist social media post about the Obamas draws backlash
New information:
- PBS pegs the sequence as: the White House first publicly defended the racist depiction on Trump’s social media, then removed it after backlash.
- Confirms this chronology as part of a broader Friday news wrap alongside other items (Benghazi suspect arrest, Pakistan mosque bombing, Nancy Guthrie investigation, Sonny Jurgensen’s death), reinforcing that the removal followed criticism rather than being immediate or proactive.
11:46 PM
The White House's response to racist Trump repost of Obamas
New information:
- Confirms the racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes has been removed from Trump’s Truth Social page.
- Provides on‑air characterization of the deletion and the episode from a White House reporter’s vantage point, framed as "the White House's response."
- Signals how the administration is publicly positioning the incident in mainstream coverage, beyond Tim Scott’s earlier criticism.
11:03 PM
Trump-ally Tim Scott calls Trump's repost of Obamas "the most racist thing" out of White House
New information:
- CBS airs Tim Scott’s line that Trump’s repost was 'the most racist thing' to come out of this White House, framing the internal GOP criticism in his own words.
- The segment confirms Republicans broadly denounced the repost before it was removed.
- NAACP President Derrick Johnson and Republican strategist Melik Abdul appear on CBS’s 'The Takeout' to discuss the episode, adding civil‑rights and intra‑GOP analytical reaction.
10:05 PM
Trump called Sen. Tim Scott after lawmaker condemned image of Obamas
New information:
- CBS confirms Trump personally called Sen. Tim Scott on Friday after Scott publicly condemned the meme and urged its removal.
- During the call, Trump told Scott the repost was a staffer’s mistake and said he would take it down; the post came down shortly after.
- CBS reports that other GOP lawmakers also privately contacted Trump urging him to remove the post, but this was an instance where Trump himself called Scott.
- Scott’s public X post described the clip as 'the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House' and said he was 'praying it was fake.'
8:51 PM
Republicans condemn Trump's racist video portraying the Obamas as apes
New information:
- Names and on‑record quotes from additional Republican critics, including Sens. Pete Ricketts, Dan Sullivan, Katie Britt, John Curtis and Reps. Mike Lawler and Mike Turner, all calling the post racist, offensive, or unacceptable.
- Sen. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican senator, called it 'the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House' and publicly urged Trump to remove the video.
- Rep. John James, a Black Republican, said he was 'shocked and appalled' but defended Trump as 'not racist,' adding he was 'glad to see that trash has been taken down.'
- Further detail that the White House initially defended the clip as an 'internet meme video' before later saying a staffer 'erroneously made the post,' after which the video was removed.
7:23 PM
White House removes social media video showing Obamas as apes after criticism
New information:
- Fox article confirms the White House characterization that the video was 'erroneously' posted by a staffer and has now been removed.
- Gives additional on‑record Republican criticism: Rep. Mike Lawler calls the video 'wrong' and 'incredibly offensive' and says it should be deleted with an apology, and notes Sen. Tim Scott's quote that he was 'praying it was fake.'
- Adds that California Gov. Gavin Newsom publicly urged Republicans to condemn Trump over the video, calling his behavior 'disgusting.'
- Provides more detail on the video’s content: the Obamas’ heads superimposed on primates in a jungle set to 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight,' as part of a clip pushing 2020 election‑fraud claims and featuring other officials as animals.
7:23 PM
Trump revives racist imagery once seen as disqualifying
New information:
- Axios piece situates the video in a long historical line of racist monkey/ape depictions of Black people, emphasizing that civil‑rights groups and historians regard such imagery as an explicit slur, not ambiguous satire.
- It catalogs multiple past cases where similar imagery or language (Roseanne Barr on Valerie Jarrett, Nury Martinez, Marilyn Davenport, John Rocker, Howard Cosell) led to immediate firings, resignations, or discipline across politics, sports, and media.
- The article underscores that, unlike those prior episodes, most of Trump’s allies are calling only for an apology or deletion rather than any real sanction, and frames this as evidence that rhetorical guardrails against explicit racism on the right have eroded.
- It connects this incident to Trump’s broader pattern of dehumanizing and xenophobic language, including saying immigrants are 'poisoning the blood of our country' and amplifying false stories about Haitian migrants eating pets.
6:56 PM
Racist video shared by Trump depicting Obamas as apes taken down
New information:
- CBS segment confirms the racist video depicting the Obamas as apes has been removed from Trump’s Truth Social account.
- A White House official tells CBS that a staffer 'erroneously made the post,' repeating the staff‑blame explanation already circulating.
- The clip reinforces that mainstream outlets are treating the video explicitly as racist and dehumanizing imagery, not just an 'internet meme.'
6:19 PM
Trump deletes racist video depicting Obamas as apes after backlash
New information:
- MS NOW details that the offensive clip appeared in the final seconds of about a one‑minute video pushing Trump’s 2020 election conspiracy claims and stayed online for roughly 12 hours before removal.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially issued a written statement dismissing criticism as 'fake outrage' and framing the content as a 'Lion King' meme before a later statement said a staffer 'erroneously' posted it.
- A senior White House official describes the internal operation as highly unstructured, with no formal messaging strategy or approvals, saying, 'Everyone has their own lane and usually it works out fine, until it doesn’t.'
- Republican senators Tim Scott, Roger Wicker and Pete Ricketts issued unusually sharp public condemnations, with Scott calling it 'the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House' and Ricketts explicitly rejecting Leavitt’s meme defense.
- The piece traces the clip to a specific pro‑Trump account on X and notes that the version Trump posted featured only the Obamas, not the broader cast of Democrats seen in the original video.
6:12 PM
White House says it removed Trump post with racist video of Barack and Michelle Obama
New information:
- CBS segment reiterates that the White House says a staffer 'erroneously made the post' and that the racist video depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.
- It confirms the White House line that the post was removed after being reposted by President Trump on Truth Social.
5:46 PM
Trump posts racist meme of the Obamas — then deletes it
New information:
- NPR confirms the clip showed Barack and Michelle Obama’s faces superimposed on apes and that it ran at the end of a roughly one‑minute Truth Social video pushing 2020 election conspiracy theories.
- The White House now says a staffer 'erroneously' posted the clip, a detail not in the earlier summary of Scott and Schumer’s reactions.
- Press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the post as an 'internet meme' depicting Trump as 'king of the jungle' and Democrats as Lion King characters, and dismissed criticism as 'fake outrage,' even though Trump’s repost did not include the broader context she cited.
- NPR situates the incident in Trump’s long pattern of racist remarks toward Black people, including birtherism, derogatory language about African countries, and false claims that Kamala Harris 'turned Black.'
3:56 PM
White House tries to defend Trump amplifying a racist video targeting the Obamas
New information:
- Adds White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s on‑record statement to Deadline framing the clip as an 'internet meme video' depicting Trump as 'King of the Jungle' and Democrats as 'Lion King' characters, and calling criticism 'fake outrage.'
- Clarifies that nearly all of the 62‑second clip is a 2020 election‑fraud conspiracy video, with the racist Obama‑as‑primate image appearing briefly at the 60‑second mark.
- Reiterates Trump’s recent pattern of racially charged rhetoric, including calling Somali Americans 'garbage' and using 'DEI' as a slur tied to the Obama library, which puts the video incident in a broader timeline of conduct.
- Spells out that Trump has a prior history of amplifying racist content, such as a supporter shouting 'white power' in his first term, paralleling this latest video.
3:56 PM
Sen Tim Scott calls Trump post 'most racist thing I've seen out of this White House'
New information:
- Sen. Tim Scott called Trump’s Obama‑ape Truth Social post 'the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House' and publicly urged Trump to remove it.
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also demanded Trump delete the post and apologize to Barack and Michelle Obama, calling it 'Racist. Vile. Abhorrent.'
- The piece underscores that Scott, normally a staunch Trump ally and current NRSC chair, is breaking with the president over this specific post.
- Scott recently also broke with Trump over DOJ’s criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, calling Powell 'inept' but not criminal.
3:42 PM
Senate's lone Black Republican says Trump video "most racist thing I've seen out of this White House"
New information:
- Sen. Tim Scott publicly urged Trump to delete the post and called it 'the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.'
- Scott said he was 'praying it was fake' before confirming it was real, underscoring the severity of his reaction.
- Axios notes that Republicans rarely address backlash to Trump’s posts, highlighting Scott’s response as unusually swift and direct.
3:10 PM
Trump shares racist video depicting Obamas as apes
New information:
- CBS confirms the clip Trump posted is a shortened version of an AI‑style meme originally shared on X in October 2025 that portrays multiple Democrats as animals and Trump as a lion.
- The version Trump reposted includes only the Obamas as primates and omits other Democrats who appear as animals in the original meme.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the post as an 'internet meme' and dismissed criticism as 'fake outrage.'
- Sen. Tim Scott, the longest‑serving Black senator and chair of the NRSC, publicly denounced the video as 'the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House' and urged Trump to remove it.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom demanded that 'every single Republican' denounce the video.
- The article reiterates that the video also promotes debunked Dominion Voting Systems conspiracies at the heart of prior defamation suits against Fox News and Newsmax, and notes again that DOJ under Bill Barr found no fraud that would have changed the 2020 result.
2:51 PM
Trump shares a racist video that depicts the Obamas as primates
New information:
- PBS/AP piece confirms the clip Trump shared is a 62‑second video focused on debunked 2020 voting‑machine conspiracy theories, into which the racist primate depiction of the Obamas is spliced at the 60‑second mark.
- The White House, via press secretary Karoline Leavitt, explicitly defends the post as an 'internet meme' of Trump as 'King of the Jungle' and dismisses criticism as 'fake outrage,' adding new on‑record reaction.
- The report attributes the underlying meme to a conservative meme‑maker, notes that Biden is also depicted as a primate eating a banana, and documents immediate backlash from the anti‑Trump Republican group 'Republicans Against Trump.'
- The article situates the post in a larger overnight barrage of Truth Social activity amplifying Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen despite prior court rulings and his own former attorney general’s findings.
- It contextualizes the incident in Trump’s longer history of racist or incendiary rhetoric toward Black people and immigrants, including his 'shithole countries' remark and 'poisoning the blood' line echoing Nazi language.