Republicans condemn "appalling" Obama video posted by Trump
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Sen. Tim Scott questions Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a hearing on Feb. 5. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Republicans are condemning a racist video President Trump shared depicting former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, with Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) calling it "the most racist thing" he's seen from the White House.
Why it matters: It's highly unusual for Republicans to join in any backlash to Trump posts. The post was later taken down after remaining up about 12 hours, per a White House official who said it was made in error by a staffer.
- "Praying it was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House," Scott, the head of the Senate GOP's campaign arm and the chamber's only Black Republican, posted on X Friday. He also called on Trump to remove the video.
- "The President's post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered," Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) wrote on X.
- "Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this. The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize," Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) posted.
Driving the news: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) also called on Trump to delete the video and apologize, calling the clip "totally unacceptable."
- Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who faces a tough reelection battle this year, retweeted Scott's post, saying, "Tim is right. This was appalling."
- "I do not feel the need to respond to every inflammatory statement made by the White House. However, the release of racist images of former President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama is offensive, heart breaking, and unacceptable. President Trump should apologize," Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) wrote on x.
What happened: The two-second snippet portraying the Obamas as apes appears at the end of an election conspiracy video that abruptly cuts to the clip and then cuts back.
- Trump posted it at 11:44 pm ET on Thursday, before deleting it late Friday morning following the statements from Scott and others.
- The clip, a parody of "The Lion King," is from an AI-generated video created by a MAGA meme account.
What they're saying: Dozens of congressional Democrats expressed outrage at the video and called on their Republican colleagues to condemn it.
- "Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder. Why are GOP leaders like John Thune continuing to stand by this sick individual?" House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote on X Friday.
- Jeffries called on Republicans to denounce Trump's "disgusting bigotry."
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Trump's post, "Racist. Vile. Abhorrent," adding, "This is dangerous and degrades our country—where are Senate Republicans?" Schumer also called on Trump to delete the post and apologize.
Before the post was deleted, the White House called criticism of the video "fake outrage."
- "This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Between the lines: Overall, few Republican lawmakers have publicly criticized the video, and some questioned if Trump intended to post it.
- "President Trump has made tremendous inroads in the black community and I can't imagine that sharing a one-minute video the last second of which was pretty racist wasn't a sloppy oversight by staff," Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) told Axios in a statement.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
