Republicans condemn racist Trump video post depicting Obamas as apes

Members of Trump’s political party called for the removal of the reposted social media clip, which has since been taken down.Published On 6 Feb 2026United States President Donald Trump has again stoked outrage over his online posts, this time for sharing a video depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as apes.The reposted clip came as part of a flurry of late-night messages on Trump’s Truth Social account.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3ICE, Ilhan Omar and Somalis: Unpacking Trump’s obsession with Minnesotalist 2 of 3‘Melania’: What to know about the US first lady’s new documentarylist 3 of 3It’s time for the world to boycott the USend of listBy midday on Friday, the video had been removed — but not after an outpouring of bipartisan condemnation, slamming the post as blatantly racist.In a post on the social media platform X, Tim Scott, the only Black Republican currently serving in the Senate, said he was “praying” that the video “was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House”.“The president should remove it,” he added.Another Republican, Representative Mike Lawler, also called on Trump to delete the post, calling it “incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake”.Democrats, meanwhile, sought to tie the video to Trump’s history of insensitive remarks, and they called on Republicans to condemn this latest episode.“President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans. They represent the best of this country,” said Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives.“Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder. Why are GOP leaders like John Thune continuing to stand by this sick individual?”The White House, for its part, initially defended the post as an “internet meme”. Later, it said the post had been shared “erroneously” by a White House staffer, not by the president.