“Most Racist Thing I’ve Seen Out Of This White House”
UPDATED: While Democrats condemned Donald Trump’s Truth Social post of a video in which Barack and Michelle Obama were depicted as monkeys by racist artificial intelligence, one of the president’s fierce defenders also called it out.
Sen., who is heading the GOP’s Senate campaign efforts this year. Tim Scott (R-SC) wrote of X: “I pray this is fake because this is the most racist thing I’ve ever seen in the White House. The President should remove this.”
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The White House acknowledged that Trump posted the video and defended the president for doing this. “This is taken from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as the characters of the jungle,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. The Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something that truly matters to the American people today.
His comments contrasted with an incident from Trump’s first term; Roseanne Barr, then starring in her own ABC sitcom, referred to Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to the Obamas, as a child of the “planet of the apes.” Walt Disney Co. He fired Barr. At the time, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called out what she saw as the media’s double standards, but told reporters “no one was defending” the sitcom star’s comments.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), another Republican facing a competitive re-election race this cycle, wrote: “The President’s post is false and deeply offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be immediately deleted with an apology offered.”
A spokesman for the Obama family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Trump’s release of this video — especially during Black History Month — is a stark reminder of how Trump and his followers truly view people. And we’ll remember that in November,” the NAACP said in a statement.
“President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, compassionate, and patriotic Americans. They represent the best of this country. Donald Trump is a despicable, unstable, and malicious bottom-feeder. Why do GOP leaders like John Thune continue to stand by this sick individual? Every Republican must immediately condemn Donald Trump’s disgusting bigotry,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement.
While MSNBC and CNN covered the post on their morning show Friday, Fox News largely ignored it.
The Obamas’ clip features a “@XERIAS_X” watermark, and the account appears to have originally posted the video. in October last year. In the 55-second video, Trump is depicted as a lion, while Hillary Clinton and Zohran Mamdani are depicted as a boar and a hyena, respectively.
The account @XERIAS_X has a profile photo of Pepe the Frog dressed as Trump. Account claimed rights for “warplane poop” AI video Trump’s message during the “No Kings” protests last year.
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