Washington: US President Donald Trump on Friday deleted a controversial social media post that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as primates, following widespread condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans who described the content as racist and offensive.
Despite the backlash, Trump later said he would not apologise, asserting that he had made no mistake. The post, shared late Thursday on Trump’s Truth Social account, was removed hours later after mounting pressure from civil rights leaders, lawmakers across party lines, and members of his own party.
The White House attributed the post to a staffer, calling it an error, a rare acknowledgment of misjudgment by the administration. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially dismissed criticism as “fake outrage” before confirming that the post had been taken down. She said the video originated from an internet meme portraying Trump as “King of the Jungle” and Democratic leaders as animals, claiming it was shared unintentionally.
The 62-second video largely consisted of footage promoting unfounded claims of voting machine tampering during the 2020 presidential election. Near the end of the clip, a brief segment showed jungle primates with the faces of the Obamas digitally imposed on them. The imagery triggered immediate outrage, particularly as it appeared during the first week of Black History Month.
Trump’s refusal to apologise came even as prominent Republicans publicly criticised the post. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the US Senate, called the video “the most racist thing” he had seen from the White House and urged its removal. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi termed it “totally unacceptable” and said the president should apologise.
Black civil rights leaders also condemned the imagery. NAACP President Derrick Johnson described the video as “utterly despicable,” while Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke rejected the White House’s explanation, arguing that such incidents reflect a deeper toxic culture. “If there wasn’t a racist climate, this behaviour would not occur,” Clarke said.
Mark Burns, a Black pastor and prominent Trump supporter, said he had spoken directly with the president and advised him to dismiss the staffer responsible and publicly condemn the post. Burns said Trump acknowledged that the content was “wrong, offensive, and unacceptable.”
The controversy reignited scrutiny of Trump’s use of social media, which he frequently employs to announce policy decisions, threaten adversaries, and amplify false claims, including repeated assertions that the 2020 election was stolen despite multiple court rulings to the contrary.
The incident also revived criticism of Trump’s long history of racially charged rhetoric, including his promotion of the debunked “birther” conspiracy against Obama, derogatory remarks about majority-Black countries, and campaign statements likening immigration to “poisoning the blood” of the nation.
The Obamas declined to respond publicly to the post. By midday Friday, the video had been removed, but questions remain over oversight of the president’s social media accounts and accountability within the White House communications apparatus.
