A controversial video posted to President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account that briefly included an AI-generated clip portraying former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as cartoon apes was deleted Friday after drawing widespread backlash.
The post, which appeared late Thursday night, featured a short segment from a longer animated video depicting several Democratic figures as animals. In the clip, the Obamas and former President Joe Biden were shown with their faces superimposed on ape-like characters, while President Trump was portrayed as a lion receiving praise from the other figures.
A senior White House official told CNN that the post was shared in error by a staff member.
“A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down,” the official told CNN correspondent Alayna Treene.
According to Axios, the video was uploaded to Trump’s account at approximately 11:44 p.m. Thursday and removed by Friday morning. Several major media outlets quickly labeled the post as racist in their coverage.
The clip was taken from a broader internet meme video that also featured other Democrats, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Adam Schiff of California, portrayed as various animals. The video ended with Trump depicted as a dominant lion figure.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the controversy Friday morning, defending the context of the broader video.
“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” Leavitt said, according to USA Today. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
In an interview with Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow, Leavitt described the reaction as “fake news,” arguing that the outrage was manufactured by the media.
Despite the administration’s response, some Republican leaders publicly criticized the post. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina condemned the video in a statement on X.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” Scott wrote. “The President should remove it.”
The incident adds to ongoing scrutiny of content shared on Trump’s social media accounts and highlights the challenges surrounding the use of AI-generated media in political messaging. While the White House emphasized that the post was made in error, critics argue that such material risks inflaming racial tensions and undermining public trust.
