President Trump has come under intense scrutiny after posting a video on his social media platform that features racist animation of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, with their faces superimposed onto the bodies of apes. The video was posted at 11:44pm ET on Thursday night and quickly sparked widespread condemnation.
The White House initially defended the video, stating it was an "internet meme" that Trump had reposted from a Facebook post by the Hardin County Republican Party of Kentucky in October. However, after further investigation, it was revealed that the original post had been deleted following backlash, with a White House staffer later admitting they had made the mistake.
The Obamas have yet to comment on the video, but their representatives have released a statement distancing themselves from Trump's actions. President Obama and Michelle Obama are "brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans" who "represent the best of this country," according to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Lawmakers across the aisle have joined in condemning the video, with Republican Sen. Tim Scott calling it the "most racist thing I've seen out of this White House" and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer labeling it "racist, vile and abhorrent." Even some Republicans have spoken out against Trump's actions, with Rep. Jeffries urging every single Republican to "immediately denounce Donald Trump's disgusting bigotry."
The video has sparked a heated debate about racism and white supremacy in the US, with many calling on President Trump to take immediate action to address the issue. The White House has yet to comment further on the matter, but it is clear that Trump's actions have caused significant damage to his reputation and relationships with lawmakers across the aisle.
The White House initially defended the video, stating it was an "internet meme" that Trump had reposted from a Facebook post by the Hardin County Republican Party of Kentucky in October. However, after further investigation, it was revealed that the original post had been deleted following backlash, with a White House staffer later admitting they had made the mistake.
The Obamas have yet to comment on the video, but their representatives have released a statement distancing themselves from Trump's actions. President Obama and Michelle Obama are "brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans" who "represent the best of this country," according to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Lawmakers across the aisle have joined in condemning the video, with Republican Sen. Tim Scott calling it the "most racist thing I've seen out of this White House" and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer labeling it "racist, vile and abhorrent." Even some Republicans have spoken out against Trump's actions, with Rep. Jeffries urging every single Republican to "immediately denounce Donald Trump's disgusting bigotry."
The video has sparked a heated debate about racism and white supremacy in the US, with many calling on President Trump to take immediate action to address the issue. The White House has yet to comment further on the matter, but it is clear that Trump's actions have caused significant damage to his reputation and relationships with lawmakers across the aisle.
Like, what a perfect way for Trump to make friends with the entire black community... by basically saying "Hey guys, let me post this super classy animated video of you in monkey suits" 
. I mean, who needs to apologize when you can just blame it on someone else and hope everyone forgets 
. The Obamas are still good people no matter what Trump does, by the way 
. Can we please just get back to normal now? 
... like, come on Donny! 
What kind of message are you trying to send? It's not just about the animation being racist, it's about the fact that you're using memes to express your feelings and not taking responsibility for your actions. And now everyone's calling you out on it 
... I feel like we're back in the 90s with all this racist stuff resurfacing 
... Can't we just focus on unity and love, you know? 
It's not that hard to be a good sport about losing an election and gracious in defeat 
... But I guess some people just can't help themselves 
. Anyway, this whole thing is making me think of all the other times we've seen Trump say things that are just plain hurtful 
... like, what's going on with this guy? 
! Like, I get that he's trying to stir up controversy, but come on, this is just low 
.
. The White House just made a huge mistake by defending this crap, and now they're trying to backtrack 
. I feel bad for Obama and Michelle - they don't deserve to be treated like this, especially by someone who's supposed to be a leader 
. We need to start calling out racism and white supremacy for what they are - toxic ideologies that have no place in our society 
. Trump might think he's above the law, but we're not buying it 
"The truth will set you free, but first it can make you miserable." - Alexander Solzhenitsyn 
.
and what really gets me is that people on both sides are still talking about "the other guy" instead of the real issue at hand - racism... can't we all just take a step back and try to understand where the other person is coming from? 
how could he do this to the obamas?! i'm literally shaking thinking about all the hurtful things he's spreading around here... i don't even know what's more shocking, that it was posted on his platform or that ppl in the white house thought it was a good idea 
... and i'm actually kinda surprised that he didn't get called out sooner - not on a smaller scale but now it's like everyone's speaking up against him... gotta wonder how the republicans are gonna handle this as a party... anyway, just saying we need to be more aware of what we're sharing online 
this dude Trump is literally unbelievable how can he just repost this racist animation of Obama and Michelle as monkeys? like what kind of sick twisted mind would do something like that? 
it's like he's trying to make them out to be some kind of caricature or something. and the fact that his staff had to go back and "investigate" to figure out where the video came from is just...wow. 
i'm not surprised that republicans are speaking out against it though, even if they don't always agree with them on everything. anyway, i just wanna ask: when did we start electing presidents who seem to have a vendetta against half of the population? 
.
. I don't get why he didn't just delete the video instead of trying to spin it as some kind of "meme" 
. The Obamas deserve so much better than to be treated like this, especially after everything they've done for this country 
. We need someone in the White House who's gonna stand up against racism and hate, not fuel it 
. It's time for President Trump to take responsibility for his actions and apologize to the Obamas