On February 5-6, 2026, President Donald Trump shared a racist AI-generated video on Truth Social showing Barack and Michelle Obama's faces superimposed onto cartoon apes while “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played. The minute-long video focused on false 2020 election fraud claims before suddenly cutting to the racist imagery. The post came during Trump's 66-post late-night spree between 10:36 p.m. and 12:25 a.m.
The White House initially defended it—Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle” and told critics to “stop the fake outrage.” Twelve hours later, after bipartisan outrage including from Republican Senator Tim Scott—who called it “the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House”—Trump deleted the video and blamed a “White House staffer” who “erroneously made the post.”
When confronted, Trump refused to apologize, saying, “No, I didn't make a mistake” and claiming the video “was fine.” He claimed he “didn't see the full video”—which contradicts the staffer excuse. If a staffer posted it without his knowledge, why would he need to claim he didn't see all of it? Only Dan Scavino and Natalie Harp have access to his account, and Trump posted 66 times during this spree. When asked if he condemned the racist imagery, Trump said, “Of course I do”—while simultaneously refusing to apologize. Classic Trump: Post something racist, defend it, blame a staffer, then refuse to apologize.