| (image: Governor Newsom Press Office’s post on X) |
US President Donald Trump has triggered a fresh political storm after sharing a video on his Truth Social platform that depicts former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as monkeys, drawing sharp criticism from Democrats and civil rights advocates.
The one-minute video, posted on Thursday, revolves around discredited claims that Dominion Voting Systems rigged the 2020 presidential election against Trump. Towards the end of the clip, the faces of Barack and Michelle Obama briefly appear superimposed on the bodies of monkeys, accompanied by the song ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’.
The post quickly garnered several thousand likes on Truth Social, even as it sparked outrage across the political spectrum. Critics described the imagery as racist and offensive, particularly given that Barack Obama is the first Black president of the United States.
The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, seen as a potential contender for the 2028 presidential race, strongly condemned the video. “Disgusting behaviour by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now,” Newsom’s office said in a post on X.
Ben Rhodes, a former national security adviser to Obama, also criticised Trump’s post. “Future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures, while studying Trump as a stain on history,” Rhodes said in a post on X.
Obama had actively campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s rival in the 2024 presidential election.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has increasingly relied on artificial intelligence-generated and digitally altered imagery to target political opponents. Last year, he shared an AI-generated video showing Obama in prison attire and another clip depicting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in racial caricature, which Jeffries had described as racist.
The White House, however, reportedly brushed aside the criticism on Friday. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the backlash as “fake outrage”, saying the clip was “an internet meme depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King”.
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