- Trump shared an AI-generated video depicting the Obamas as apes, a racist trope.
- Republican leaders, including the sole Black GOP senator, condemned the post as racist.
- The White House initially defended the video but later claimed a staffer posted it ‘erroneously’.
”Donald Trump is a white supremacist” -Jemele Hill (2017)
White people were outraged when sista Jemele Hill made this proclamation almost a decade ago, but what will they say now amid Trump sharing a racist video of the Obamas as apes? At first, the White House waved off the incident, treating the post as inconsequential and branding the backlash “fake.” Then, amid a barrage of bipartisan criticism and calls for Trump to apologize, they backpedaled and pointed the finger at a “staffer.”
According to TMZ, Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video to his Truth Social account about “anomalies” that occur with voting machines, seemingly in an effort to cast doubt over the upcoming midterm election in November, in which Republicans are forecast to lose badly. In that video, there is an image of President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Yes, apes, a.k.a. monkeys. The racist trope that has been historically levied at Black folks for years.
It should come as no surprise that the White House initially defended this as a “nothing burger.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sent a statement to Deadline in a pathetic attempt to spin blatant racism.
“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.”
Perhaps Karoline doesn’t count Black folks as “the American public,” but we assure you that we are as American as apple pie and Jim Crow. And since when does The LION King have apes???
Here’s how badly this is playing for Trump.
Senator Tim Scott, the dignity-resistant loyalist who has consistently prostrated himself before the president for years, the only Black Republican member of the Senate, had this to say, according to CNN:
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it,”
When HE calls it racist, you KNOW that Trump is down bad.
California Governor Gavin Newsom took to Twitter to condemn Trump’s use of the racist image.
“Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now.”
There is little to no chance that “every single Republican” denounce racism. A great many of them voted for Trump for his bigotry and would probably like to see him lean more into hate speech as he approaches lame duck status.
By late morning Friday, the administration reversed course, and a White House official told CNN that a staffer had “erroneously made the post” and that it had been taken down.
Behind the scenes, CNN reports, the episode sent the White House scrambling with officials, advisers, and allies reaching out to lawmakers and media outlets in an effort to distance Trump from the post, with one adviser claiming the president was unaware of the video and “very let down” by the staffer responsible.
The WH also told Deadline:
“A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down.”
A “staffer.” SURE, Jan.
The Obamas have yet to comment on the video.
