President Donald Trump removed a video from his Truth Social account after it sparked widespread condemnation for depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The post, which remained online for nearly 12 hours, triggered bipartisan outrage and placed the White House into damage control as criticism mounted from within Trump’s own party.
The video appeared at the end of a longer clip promoting claims about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and briefly showed the Obamas’ faces superimposed on apes in a jungle scene.
The imagery echoed racist tropes and was accompanied for a moment by the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, a close ally of the president, publicly called on Trump to remove the post.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it,” Scott wrote.
Other Republican lawmakers, including Representatives Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota of New York, also urged deletion and called for an apology.
As criticism intensified, two Republican senators closely aligned with the White House, Pete Ricketts and Roger Wicker, issued their own condemnations, signaling growing unease within the party.
Democratic officials and civil rights leaders denounced the video as racist and offensive, while the Obamas had not commented as of publication.
Initially, the White House dismissed the backlash, describing the video as an internet meme and criticizing what it called exaggerated outrage.
Hours later, the administration reversed course and confirmed the post had been removed.
A White House official said a staffer had “erroneously” shared the video, and aides stressed that Trump was not aware of its content.
Officials and allies contacted lawmakers and media outlets in an effort to distance the president from responsibility for the post.
The clip was traced to an earlier video circulated on X by a conservative meme creator that depicted several prominent Democrats as animals.
The incident added to a pattern of controversy surrounding Trump’s online activity, including past instances in which he shared racially charged or digitally altered content.
While Trump rarely deletes posts or issues apologies, the removal marked a notable retreat amid escalating political pressure.