Donald Trump removes racist video depicting the Obamas as monkeys

US President Donald Trump shared a racist video on his online platform Truth Social in which former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are depicted as monkeys, but removed it hours later after condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans.

The 62-second video, posted to his account on Thursday night, promoted baseless conspiracy theories about vote-rigging in the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

After about a minute, the faces of the Obamas appear over the bodies of apes while the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" plays in the background.

The video was initially defended by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

"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 to media outlets before the video was taken down without further explanation on Friday.

The post quickly triggered a bipartisan outcry, with lawmakers from both parties calling it racist and demanding it be removed.

Comparing Black people to apes has long been used as a racist trope to dehumanize them and justify discrimination and violence.

The only Black Republican in the Senate denounced Trump's post.

"Praying it was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House. The President should remove it," Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina posted on X.

Representative Mike Lawler of New York, who is in the midst of competitive re-election race, wrote on X: "The President's post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered."

Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, denounced the video on X as "Racist. Vile. Abhorrent."

"The President must immediately delete the post and apologize to Barack and Michelle Obama, two great Americans who make Donald Trump look like a small, envious man," Schumer wrote.

The clip featuring the Obamas likely came from an AI-generated video created by another account that had circulated late last year, according to an investigation by dpa's fact-checking team.