President Donald Trump has taken down a controversial post from his Truth Social account, which featured a racist portrayal of Barack and Michelle Obama, following a wave of criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. However, he maintains there is nothing for him to apologize about.
The uproar began on Thursday night after Trump shared a video from the Patriot News Outlet. The clip claimed that an investigation in Michigan uncovered technology that allegedly manipulated the 2020 presidential election results, which saw Joe Biden defeating Trump.
Though Trump has consistently alleged that the 2020 election was fraudulent, there is no substantiating evidence. The video initially seemed to be a straightforward interview with an investigator examining the election claims.
Unexpectedly, the video took an offensive turn in its final seconds. At the one-minute mark, the song ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ from Disney’s Lion King began to play.
The video then displayed images of Michelle and Barack Obama with their heads superimposed onto monkey bodies in a rainforest setting.
The video was met with immediate disapproval from across the political spectrum, with many expressing outrage over the racist content, especially during Black History Month.
Throughout history, Black individuals have faced dehumanizing comparisons to primates, and the Obamas had previously endured similar derogatory representations during their tenure in the White House.
While many, including Republican figures like Sen. Tim Scott, who has previously endorsed Trump, condemned the video and demanded its removal, the White House appeared to minimize the incident.
A White House official initially stated, “A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down.”
During Friday’s press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to questions by dismissing the backlash as ‘fake outrage,’ asserting there was no malicious intent behind the post.
“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King,” she said in a statement. ”Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
The meme cited by Leavitt featured Trump’s head on a lion’s body and included faces of his political opponents, such as Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, though none were depicted as apes.
It’s worth noting there are no apes in The Lion King; the only primate featured is Rafiki, a Mandrill, differing significantly from the offensive imagery in the meme.
In response to the criticism, Trump acknowledged the racist elements of the video during a conversation with reporters but maintained he was not at fault.
“No, I didn’t make a mistake,” he remarked aboard Air Force One, admitting he hadn’t viewed the entire clip. “I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine.”
“I looked in the first part and it was really about voter fraud in, and the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is,” Trump said. “Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they’d look at the whole thing. But I guess somebody didn’t, and they posted,” Trump stated.
“We took it down as soon as we found out about it,” he added.