A video posted by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account, depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as apes, has sparked widespread condemnation. The video, which was later deleted, showed the Obamas' faces superimposed on animated primates while the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" played ¹ ² ³.
Former Nigerian Senator Shehu Sani slammed Trump, saying the depiction was a racist insult to the Black race. "To depict Obama and Michelle as monkeys is a racist insult to the whole of the Black race," Sani wrote on X. Other critics, including Republican Senator Tim Scott, described the video as "the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House" ² ⁴.
The White House initially defended the post, calling it an "internet meme," but later blamed a staffer for the error and removed the video. The incident has sparked concerns about Trump's history of promoting racist imagery and language ⁴ ⁵.
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