U.S. President Donald Trump is facing widespread backlash after sharing a video on his social media platform Truth Social that included racist imagery depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes according to Reuters.
The video posted late Thursday largely focused on false claims about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. However near the end it featured an AI generated clip showing primates with the faces of the Obamas imagery long associated with racist attacks against Black Americans.
The post quickly drew condemnation from civil rights groups Democratic leaders and several Republicans. Senator Tim Scott a prominent Republican described the video as “the most racist thing” he had seen from the White House urging the president to take responsibility.
Initially the White House defended the post calling it an “internet meme.” However approximately 12 hours later the video was removed. Officials later said the content had been posted in error by a staff member.
President Trump claimed he had not watched the full video before it was shared. While he said he condemned racist imagery he refused to apologize stating that he did not believe he had made a mistake.
The incident has reignited debate over oversight of presidential social media accounts and raised fresh concerns about the use of AI generated content and racially inflammatory material in political messaging as criticism continues to mount both domestically and internationally.
