'Stain on our history': Trump under fire after sharing video portraying Barack, Michelle Obama as monkeys
US President Donald Trump drew sharp criticism after sharing a video on his social media platform that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes and repeated false claims about the 2020 election.
US President Donald Trump is facing widespread backlash after posting a video on social media that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. The one minute video, shared on Trump’s Truth Social platform on Thursday, repeated false claims that ballot counting firm Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the 2020 election from him.
Towards the end of the video, the Obamas briefly appear with their faces superimposed on monkey bodies, accompanied by the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom, a vocal Trump critic and a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2028, condemned the post, describing the Republican leader’s conduct as unacceptable.
"Disgusting behaviour by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now," Newsom’s press office account said in a post on X.
Ben Rhodes, a former senior national security adviser and close aide to Barack Obama, said Trump would be remembered negatively in history and also criticised his supporters.
"Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history," Rhodes wrote on X.
Trump has previously used artificial intelligence to mock political figures and world leaders. Last year, he shared an AI generated video showing Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office and later appearing behind bars in an orange jumpsuit. He also posted an AI clip of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is Black, depicting him with a fake moustache and a sombrero.
Obama is the only African-American president in the US history. He campaigned for Trump’s rival, Kamala Harris, during the 2024 presidential election.
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