Updated Feb. 6, 2026 — President Trump on Friday addressed a clip posted to his social media account that included a racist image of Barack and Michelle Obama rendered as apes, saying he only watched the beginning of the now-deleted video and did not see the offensive portion.
“I just looked at the first part,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that much of the clip focused on alleged voter fraud. “I didn’t see the whole thing. I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of a picture that people don’t like. I wouldn’t like it either, but I didn’t see it.”
Trump suggested a staff member uploaded the post, saying “somebody slipped” and the clip was posted to his Truth Social page shortly before midnight Thursday without noticing the edited image near the end. “Generally they’d look at the whole thing, but I guess somebody didn’t, and they posted,” he said. “We took it down as soon as we found out about it.”
The White House initially defended the post. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt described criticism as “fake outrage,” saying the faces of the Obamas had been edited onto apes as part of a meme that portrayed Democrats as characters from The Lion King.
Republican lawmakers quickly denounced the post, with Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina calling it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” Several GOP members urged the White House to remove the video and apologize.
Trump said he spoke with Scott — a conversation that preceded the post’s removal — and confirmed the clip was taken down soon afterward. When asked whether he would apologize, the president replied, “No, I didn’t make a mistake,” while also saying he “of course” condemns the racist part of the video.