US President Donald Trump has sparked widespread criticism after posting a video that depicts former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, as monkeys.
Trump shared the controversial video early Friday on his Truth Social platform while repeating claims of irregularities in the 2020 US presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden. Biden served as vice-president under Obama between 2009 and 2017.
In the one-minute video, a cybersecurity expert, Phil Waldron, alleged that the 2020 election was manipulated. He claimed that five key states stopped counting votes at the same time and later recorded sharp increases in votes in favour of Biden when counting resumed. The video suggested the use of rigging software, though no evidence was provided to support the claims.
Trump posted the video twice on his platform.
Barack and Michelle Obama appeared only at the end of the clip as AI-generated monkey figures dancing to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight, a popular tune associated with Disney’s The Lion King franchise.
The post immediately drew condemnation from political leaders and social media users, many of whom described it as racist and offensive.
Reacting, the press office of California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement condemning the action.
“This is disgusting behaviour by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now,” the statement said.
The video has continued to generate backlash online, with critics accusing Trump of promoting racial stereotypes and deepening political and social divisions in the United States.
