Trump Offers Defense of Deleted Racist Video as Reporters Press on 'Staffer' Blame

Washington, D.C. – February 7, 2026 – President Donald Trump faced sharp questioning from reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, delivering a meandering and at times contradictory explanation for a now-deleted Truth Social post that featured a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.

The controversy erupted late Thursday when Trump's official Truth Social account shared a roughly one-minute video that promoted long-debunked claims of 2020 election voter fraud. Near the end of the clip, an AI-generated or edited segment superimposed the Obamas' faces onto the bodies of apes in a jungle setting, accompanied by music from "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." The imagery drew immediate bipartisan outrage for invoking a long-standing racist trope used historically to dehumanize Black people.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the post, describing it as an "internet meme" referencing "The Lion King" and dismissing the backlash as "fake outrage." However, after the video remained online for nearly 12 hours and drew criticism even from Republican allies—including Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who called it "the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House"—the administration shifted course. A senior White House official told multiple outlets that "a staffer erroneously made the post" and that it had been removed.

When pressed by reporters Friday about the incident and the shifting accounts, Trump offered a convoluted response that appeared to blend elements of the earlier defenses. He acknowledged seeing the beginning of the video, which he said focused on voter fraud claims and was "fine," but insisted he had not viewed the full clip or the offensive portion at the end. Trump claimed he passed it along to staff whose responsibility it was to review such content thoroughly before posting—around 11:44 p.m. the previous night—and suggested the problematic segment was a minor oversight or "a very small part" that "somebody slipped and missed."

The president described the imagery as a "takeoff" of a cartoon video and maintained he "didn't make a mistake," while condemning the racist elements when directly asked but refusing to issue an apology. "Of course I condemn it," Trump said, according to accounts from aboard the plane, but he deflected responsibility onto unnamed aides and rejected any notion of personal fault.

Critics, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, accused the White House of a cover-up, pointing to the initial defense followed by the anonymous staffer claim. Some Republican figures, including a Trump-allied pastor who spoke with the president, called for the staffer responsible to be fired immediately and for clearer condemnation of the content.

The episode has reignited debates over Trump's history of amplifying controversial rhetoric and the handling of his personal social media presence during his presidency. As of Friday evening, no specific staff member has been publicly identified or disciplined in connection with the post. The White House has not released further details on internal review processes for content shared from the president's account.

17GEN4.com