Trump says he won’t apologise for post depicting Obamas as apes

President Donald Trump removed a social media post late Thursday that included racist imagery superimposing former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama’s faces onto cartoon apes, but stated Friday night that he will not apologize for sharing it.

The roughly one-minute video primarily promoted false claims of 2020 election fraud. Near the end, it abruptly shifted to the edited ape imagery set to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he only viewed the opening portion and passed it along.

“I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine,” he said. “I looked in the first part and it was really about voter fraud…and the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is. Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they’d look at the whole thing. But I guess somebody didn’t, and they posted.”

He added: “We took it down as soon as we found out about it.”

A White House official told NBC News the post was made in error by a staffer and was removed shortly before noon Friday.

Trump acknowledged condemning the racist content but maintained he made no mistake.

“Of course” he condemns the racist parts, he said, adding, “No, I didn’t make a mistake.”

The post triggered immediate bipartisan backlash. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the Senate’s only Black Republican, called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House” and demanded its removal. Trump later said he spoke with Scott, describing him as “great” and saying “Tim understood that 100%.”

Other Republicans also condemned the content. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) wrote: “Even if this was a ‘Lion King’ meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this. The White House should…remove this and apologize.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) described it as “wrong and incredibly offensive—whether intentional or a mistake—and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the video as “an internet meme depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from ‘The Lion King,’” urging media to “stop the fake outrage.”

The imagery drew heightened criticism during Black History Month. Barack Obama became the first Black U.S. president in 2009.

Several Republican lawmakers continued pressing for an apology even after removal. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) called the images “offensive, heart breaking, and unacceptable,” while Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) labeled the post “a grave failure of judgment and…absolutely unacceptable from…anyone—most especially from the President of the United States.”

Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) criticized the delay, stating the content was “blatantly racist and inexcusable” and “should never have been posted or left published for so long.”

The incident follows previous occasions where Trump shared manipulated or AI-generated videos targeting political opponents. It also comes amid renewed focus on 2020 election claims, including recent FBI activity related to voter records in Georgia.

Representatives for the Obamas did not immediately comment.

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