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Washington: President Donald Trump drew widespread criticism on Friday after sharing a video that depicted Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, and Michelle Obama as monkeys. The footage, posted on Trump’s Truth Social platform, prompted fierce reactions, with a leading Democrat branding Trump “vile” and even a senior Republican senator describing the clip as overtly racist.
The White House dismissed the outrage, characterizing the video as “fake outrage” and claiming it was merely an “internet meme.” The one-minute clip promotes conspiracy theories about Trump’s 2020 election loss, showing the Obamas with their faces superimposed onto monkeys for about a second, accompanied by the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
The video perpetuates false claims that Dominion Voting Systems played a role in stealing the election from Trump and handing victory to Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president. By early Friday, the video had garnered thousands of likes on Trump’s social media account.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement to AFP, saying, “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 focus on real issues impacting Americans today.” There was no comment from the Obamas.
Hakeem Jeffries, the highest-ranking Democrat in the House, condemned Trump as “vile, unhinged, and malignant,” calling him a “sick individual.” Jeffries also urged all Republicans to denounce what he called Trump’s “disgusting bigotry.” Jeffries previously criticized Trump for sharing a racist image of him during last year’s negotiations to prevent a government shutdown.
Among the few voices dissenting from the widespread condemnation was Tim Scott, the only Black Republican senator and a 2024 presidential candidate, who called the video “the most racist thing I’ve seen from this White House.” Scott expressed hope that the video was fake and called for Trump to remove it.
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