Republican Tim Scott Calls Donald Trump’s Post Of Video That Depicted The Obamas As Apes: “Most Racist Thing I’ve Seen Out Of This White House”

Republican Tim Scott Calls Donald Trump’s Post Of Video That Depicted The Obamas As Apes: “Most Racist Thing I’ve Seen Out Of This White House”

Ted Johnson

Fri, February 6, 2026 at 3:40 PM UTC

3 min read

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UPDATED: While Democrats have condemned Donald Trump’s Truth Social post of a video featuring a racist AI depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, one of the president’s strident defenders also called it out.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who is chairing the GOP’s Senate campaign efforts this year, wrote on X, “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it.”

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The White House has acknowledged that Trump posted the video, and defended the president for doing so. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, “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.”

Her comments were a contrast to an incident in Trump’s first term, when Roseanne Barr, then starring in her own ABC sitcom, referred to Valerie Jarrett, who was a senior adviser to the Obamas, as the offspring to the “planet of the apes.” The Walt Disney Co. fired Barr. At the time, then-White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called out what she saw as a media double standard, but told reporters that “no one is defending” the sitcom star’s comments.

Another Republican, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who faces a competitive reelection race this cycle, wrote, “The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered.”

A spokesperson for the Obamas did not immediately return a request for comment.

The NAACP said in a statement, “Trump posting this video — especially during Black History Month— is a stark reminder of how Trump and his followers truly view people. And we’ll remember that in November.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement, “President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans. They represent the best of this country. Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder. Why are GOP leaders like John Thune continuing to stand by this sick individual? Every single Republican must immediately denounce Donald Trump’s disgusting bigotry.”

MSNBC and CNN covered the post during morning programming on Friday, while Fox News largely ignored it.

The clip of the Obamas features an “@XERIAS_X” watermark, and it appears that the account originally posted the video in October last year. The 55-second video portrays Trump as a lion, while Hillary Clinton and Zohran Mamdani are depicted as a warthog and hyena respectively.

The @XERIAS_X account has a profile photo of Pepe the Frog dressed as Trump. The account claimed credit for the “fighter jet poop” AI video posted by Trump during the “No Kings” protests last year.

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