Translated with AI
A video posted by US President Donald Trump depicting former US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama , as monkeys has sparked a furious reaction and a wave of condemnation within the American political establishment. The video was posted Thursday evening on Trump's Truth Social account and remained accessible for several hours, garnering thousands of likes.
Republican Senator Tim Scott , the only Black senator in the US Congress, harshly criticized the publication. He called on Donald Trump to remove the video, calling it "the most racist" he'd ever seen from the White House. The senator posted a corresponding statement on the social media site X.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also strongly condemned the president's actions. In a post on X, he called Donald Trump a "vile, deranged, and vile scumbag" and called on all Republicans to immediately condemn what he called the US president's "abhorrent intolerance."
According to media reports, the video is conspiracy-themed and focuses on the 2020 presidential election. It depicts Donald Trump as the "king of the jungle," while Democratic Party representatives are portrayed as characters styled after the characters from The Lion King, with the Obamas depicted as monkeys.
Democratic members of Congress and Senators began publicly accusing the US President of racism on Friday morning. In response to the criticism, White House officials denied the accusations. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt stated that the allegations were related to a video previously published online and accused opponents of "false propaganda," urging them to focus on issues that matter to the American public.
The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom , who is being touted by media as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, also criticized the post. A statement published by X called the president's actions "pathetic behavior" and again called on Republicans to publicly condemn the post.
Democratic Congressman Herb Conaway described Donald Trump as a "despicable old man and a racist" and said he would consider the silence of House Republicans to be support for racism.
Former National Security Advisor and Barack Obama ally Ben Rhodes, in turn, wrote that future generations of Americans will view the Obamas as beloved public figures, while Donald Trump, in his words, will remain "a stain on US history."
