Did Trump post a racist tweet
Executive summary
Yes — a post from President Trump’s Truth Social account included a video clip that superimposed the faces of Barack and Michelle Obama onto apes, a portrayal widely described as racist by news organizations, lawmakers from both parties and civil-rights observers, and the clip was removed amid bipartisan outrage [1] [2] [3]. The White House later said a staffer had posted the video “erroneously” and initially defended the post as an internet meme while critics pointed to the long, painful history of equating Black people with animals when labeling it racist [2] [4] [5].
1. What was posted and how it was handled
The content in question was a short video on Truth Social that shows the Obamas’ faces on apes in a jungle sequence; multiple outlets report the post was deleted hours later after a wave of criticism [1] [6] [7]. The White House first offered a defensive framing calling it an “internet meme” and telling critics to “stop the fake outrage,” then said a staffer had “erroneously” made the post and the material was taken down as the backlash mounted [4] [2] [6].
2. Why many outlets and officials called it racist
News organizations and commentators framed the image as racist because the ape/monkey trope has been used historically to dehumanize Black people, and the clip placed two Black public figures into that demeaning caricature, an association repeatedly cited by reporters and experts [3] [5]. Bipartisan condemnation followed: Republican Sen. Tim Scott called for removal and called the post the “most racist thing” he’d seen from the White House, while other Republicans and Democrats publicly demanded it be taken down — reactions chronicled across CNN, AP, BBC, NPR and CNBC [1] [2] [6] [7].
3. The administration’s response and competing narratives
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially dismissed the outrage and described the clip as a meme rather than addressing the racist-trope criticism directly, but after mounting criticism the administration said the post was made in error by a staffer and removed it [4] [2]. Some allies and staff framed the episode as an accidental, staff-level mistake and argued critics were overreacting to internet humor, while opponents saw the deletion and defense as insufficient given the imagery and the office involved [4] [6].
4. Context: pattern, history and how that matters to interpretation
Reporting places the incident in a broader pattern of Trump-era posts and remarks that critics and historians have previously deemed racially charged — from conspiracies about Barack Obama’s origins to derogatory comments about majority-Black countries — and outlets cite that record when interpreting this clip, arguing context elevates the post beyond accidental meme status [2] [8]. Conversely, defenders stress the immediate explanation of a mistaken staff post and social-media meme culture as grounds for a different interpretation; both strands are present in the coverage [4] [9].
5. What can be firmly concluded and what remains uncertain
Firmly established by contemporary reporting is that the Truth Social post depicted the Obamas as apes, generated bipartisan condemnation, and was deleted after the White House blamed a staffer and initially defended the clip as a meme [1] [7] [4]. What remains less certain from the available reporting is the president’s intent in approving or authorizing the post before deletion — outlets report the White House claim that a staffer posted it, but independent verification of who approved or directed the post has not been established in these reports [2] [6].