Editor’s note: This story contains offensive imagery.
Updated on: February 6, 2026 / 9:39 PM EST / CBS News
Washington — The White House on Friday removed an election‑conspiracy video shared by President Trump on social media that included a brief clip showing former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama edited onto primates’ bodies.
A White House official said a staffer “erroneously made the post,” and the video has been taken down. The removal followed bipartisan backlash after the Truth Social post was widely called “racist,” “offensive” and “unacceptable.”
Earlier Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the footage as part of an “internet meme video” that depicted the president as “King of the Jungle” and Democrats as characters from The Lion King, urging critics to “stop the fake outrage” and focus on other issues.
The clip — just over a minute long in the version Trump shared — promoted false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump. Toward the end of the clip, roughly two seconds show the Obamas’ heads superimposed on apes while “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” plays. Mr. Trump posted the video to Truth Social at 11:44 p.m. Thursday; the link now returns a “not found” message.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Friday night, Mr. Trump said he “just looked at the first part” of the video and did not see the portion depicting the Obamas. “I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of a picture that people don’t like,” he said. “I wouldn’t like it either, but I didn’t see it.”
Barack Obama was the nation’s first Black president and Michelle Obama the first Black first lady. Mr. Trump has previously circulated disparaging and racially charged memes about the Obamas and long pushed the debunked “birther” conspiracy that questioned Barack Obama’s birthplace; amid pressure in 2016 he said, “President Obama was born in the United States. Period.”
There has been no response from the Obamas, a spokeswoman said.
Leavitt cited an original video posted on X last October by user @xerias_x titled “President Trump: King of the Jungle.” That 55‑second clip, which appears to be AI‑generated, opens with the Obamas’ faces on ape bodies and depicts numerous Democrats as animals: Hillary Clinton as a warthog, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez as a donkey, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer as a zebra, former President Joe Biden as a primate and Vice President Kamala Harris as a turtle. In the version the president shared, only the Obamas appeared in the primate footage.
Lawmakers from both parties condemned the post. Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, wrote that he was “praying it was fake” and urged the president to remove it. Rep. Mike Lawler of New York called the post “wrong and incredibly offensive” and demanded it be deleted with an apology. Senators Roger Wicker and Pete Ricketts also said the footage was unacceptable and should be removed; Sen. John Curtis called it “blatantly racist and inexcusable.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries denounced the president’s “disgusting bigotry” and criticized GOP leaders who have not publicly condemned Mr. Trump. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office called the post “disgusting behavior” and urged every Republican to denounce it.
The video also echoed baseless allegations about Dominion Voting Systems. Mr. Trump has repeatedly asserted, without evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen; dozens of lawsuits seeking to overturn results were dismissed by courts. Former Attorney General Bill Barr said the Justice Department did not find evidence of widespread fraud that would have changed the outcome.
Dominion sued media outlets and individuals over similar claims. Fox News settled a defamation case with Dominion for $787.5 million in 2023; Newsmax paid $67 million in a separate settlement. Rudy Giuliani also reached a confidential settlement with Dominion. Former special counsel Jack Smith told House investigators he had seen Giuliani disavow some of the public claims he made about the election. Smith prosecuted Mr. Trump over alleged efforts to subvert the transfer of power after the 2020 election; the case was dismissed after Mr. Trump won a second term in November 2024.
Ed O’Keefe contributed to this report.