Washington: US President Donald Trump has deleted a social media post that included a depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes after a furious backlash, including from Republicans, one of whom branded it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House”.
In a late-night barrage of activity on Truth Social, the president’s account re-posted a conspiratorial video from the “Patriot News Outlet” about voting machines used in the 2020 election.
At the end of the clip, a cartoon video flashed up for about one second. It depicted Obama – the country’s first black president – and his wife Michelle as apes, with audio of The Lion Sleeps Tonight from The Lion King.
The White House initially defended the post, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling media outlets: “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.”
But in a later statement to this masthead, a White House official said: “A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down.”
The rare backdown followed a storm of criticism from Trump allies, including Republican senator from South Carolina Tim Scott – the only black Republican senator.
“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 said on X.
Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, and the first black person to lead a major party in Congress, said Trump was “sick” and Republicans needed to call him out.
“President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans,” he said. “They represent the best of this country. Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder.
“Why are GOP leaders like [Senate leader] John Thune continuing to stand by this sick individual? Every single Republican must immediately denounce Donald Trump’s disgusting bigotry.”
Trump’s Truth Social account regularly re-posts memes, videos and other content from the US’s large ecosystem of conservative and conspiratorial fringe media outlets.
The video in question was reiterating false claims about election fraud in 2020, asserting that voting machines mysteriously added votes for Joe Biden.
One of the companies mentioned, Dominion, received a settlement from Fox News for nearly $800 million when it sued for defamation over false claims about voting machines aired on the network.
Trump has recently reiterated conspiracy theories about voter fraud ahead of November’s midterm elections and suggested Republicans should “take over” and “nationalise” the counting of votes in upwards of 15 states.
The US Constitution stipulates that states are responsible for administering national elections in their territory.
Trump takes a relaxed approach to posting all content on social media. In January, when his account broke an embargo on national jobs data, the president shrugged it off.
“I said post them whenever you get a chance,” he said at the time. “They gave me some numbers – when people give me things, I post them.”
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.