Did Trump tweet a video of the obamas as monkeys
Executive summary
President Donald Trump did not "tweet" the clip on Twitter/X; he shared a one-minute election‑conspiracy video on his Truth Social account that includes, near the end, a brief AI-like clip showing former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama with their faces superimposed on ape bodies — a depiction widely reported as racist and lasting about one second [1] [2] [3].
1. What was posted and where it appeared
The post at issue was published on Trump’s Truth Social feed late Thursday; the 62‑second clip promotes debunked claims about 2020 vote‑counting and, at roughly the 59–60 second mark, briefly flashes images of the Obamas with monkey faces while “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” plays — multiple outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian and Axios described the appearance and platform precisely in that wording [2] [1] [4].
2. How news organizations characterized the image
Reporters and wire services uniformly described the Obamas’ depiction as apes or monkeys and labeled the imagery racist, noting its resonance with a long history of dehumanizing caricature of Black people; publications including The Guardian, Axios and Newsweek reported the clip’s content and the racist connotation emphasized in reactions [1] [4] [3].
3. Source of the clip and visible attributions
Several outlets traced the meme portion of the clip to an online origin and noted a watermark from an X account, @XERIAS_X, which has been tied to Trump‑supporting activity; Newsweek and other reports said the meme segment carried that watermark and appears to have come from a pro‑Trump X account rather than originating on Truth Social itself [5] [3].
4. Context: election falsehoods and AI manipulation
The larger video rehashes long‑discredited claims about Dominion machines and vote tabulation that have been repeatedly debunked; journalists flagged that the file also includes AI‑manipulated imagery, with agencies like Anadolu and others noting the use of AI techniques and the video’s origin from far‑right outlets such as Patriot News Outlet [6] [7].
5. Political reaction and timing considerations
The post prompted immediate condemnation from Democrats and public figures — California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office called it “disgusting,” and multiple outlets reported swift backlash given the imagery’s release during Black History Month and its echoes of historic racist tropes [6] [4] [8].
6. Alternate framing and the limits of reporting
A competing explanation offered in coverage is that the clip is part of an internet meme framing Trump as a “King of the Jungle” and Democrats as animal characters, an argument cited by The New York Times quoting defenders who present it as satire rather than explicit racial attack; reporting cannot establish the poster’s intent beyond the fact of publication, and available sources do not provide direct evidence of whether Trump personally edited or authored that final clip versus resharing content created by others [2].
7. Bottom line answer to the question asked
No, Trump did not “tweet” such a video on Twitter/X; he posted the video on Truth Social, and that post does include a brief clip showing Barack and Michelle Obama with monkey/ape faces — an image described by many outlets as racist, produced with AI‑style manipulation, traced to an online meme source with a visible watermark, and widely condemned [1] [2] [3] [6].