Posted on 02/06/2026 9:48:56 AM PST by Miami Rebel
President Donald Trump has deleted a controversial video that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Thursday evening, Trump posted a video with baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election that included a short clip at the end of the Obamas’ faces superimposed on apes’ bodies.
The video was furiously criticized by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, members of the media, and other political commentators as racist.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the post as simply sharing an “Internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle” and dismissed critics as voicing “fake outrage.”
CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene reported Friday morning that the post had been taken down.
News: The White House has now taken down the post.
A senior WH official tells me: "A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down"
It was up for 12 hours https://t.co/uvcqqmHKSk
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) February 6, 2026
Treene quoted a senior Trump administration official as saying, “A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down.”
The post “was up for 12 hours,” Treene noted.
Politico’s West Wing Playbook scribe Sophia Cai had additional reporting from her own White House source saying, “President Trump didn’t see the video (legitimately didn’t), a staffer posted it.”
The White House has deleted the apes video and a person familiar tells me:
“President Trump didn’t see the video (legitimately didn’t), a staffer posted it.”
FWIW, only a small handful of staffers have access to his Truth Social account m.
— Sophia Cai (@SophiaCai99) February 6, 2026
Cai added that “only a small handful of staffers have access to [Trump’s] Truth Social account.”
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The Buck Stops Here
It’s best to have taken it down.
But real racial equality will never be reached until people are allowed to make jokes on both sides. Chimpy McBush Hitler was fine when George W. Bush was in the White House. The Dems had a good laugh over that one. Obama?? That man is off limits.
They don’t want equality. They want to be above all others.
Good move. Very unfortunate episode.
Leavitt was just doing her job, and she wasn’t necessarily wrong that the outrage more performative than anything else.
Do I believe that some White House flunkie controls Trump’s Truth Social posts? No, I don’t. As others suggested in the other thread said, Trump probably was awake in the wee hours, ran across the video, thought the first 10 seconds or so were hilarious and re-posted without a thorough review or giving it much thought. A tempest in a teapot.
This is politics. Unnecessary alienation isn’t called for.
Also, race-based insults are ugly. Period.
Sure, if you’re working with a group of guys and the hazing is to make sure Chubby and Shorty can take a joke...
Oh, and I absolutely believe Trump didn’t hear about it—at least until Karoline inquired about how to address it, if she did.
How did he not hear about it when he’s the one who posted it?
But “white privilege” gets tossed around every day.
And that’s not considered racist?! That’s just hypocrisy at its finest!
Oh darn it!
Sitting here chuckling! :)
I thought this is why Susie Wiles was brought in. To stop this type of amateur hour nonsense from taking place. It gets posted, Leavitt defends it, then Trump blames his staff for posting it. This is the type of lack of discipline and focus that is going to cost Trump the midterm elections.
As stupid as this is, it’ll have an effect on the midterms.
Is trump trying to torpedo the midterms?
But how is this racist. This seems more like "species-ist"? How does it make any sense to coflate black people and apes?
No, Wiles was brought in to protect Neocon, GOPe, and Israeli interests.
Think of her as a mini-me Jeb Bush sitting there.
The perception of a bad economy will do more to sink Trump in the midterms than a stupid video!
fire the staffer
I just watched it. It also showed Biden as a monkey eating a banana. I guess Trump hates white people too...lol
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