U.S. President Donald Trump has sparked widespread criticism after sharing a video on his Truth Social platform that depicts former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.
The post, shared early Friday, was part of a series of messages in which Trump alleged irregularities in the 2020 presidential election that he lost to Joe Biden, who previously served as Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2017.
In the one-minute clip, cybersecurity commentator Phil Waldron discusses alleged “treachery” during the vote-counting process, claiming that five key states paused counting simultaneously and later reported spikes in votes favouring Biden. These claims echo long-running allegations about the election, which have been widely disputed and dismissed by election officials.
At the end of the video, AI-generated images portray Barack and Michelle Obama as dancing monkeys set to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Trump reportedly shared the clip twice.
The post has drawn strong condemnation from critics and political figures. The press office of California Governor Gavin Newsom described the video as “disgusting behavior,” urging Republican leaders to speak out.
The video also triggered backlash on social media, with many users accusing the president of promoting racist imagery.
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