US President Donald Trump’s decision to share a video depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as 'monkeys' has sparked severe backlash. Though the 'racist' video was deleted by Trump, he refused to apologise and said that he did not see the full video before sharing it.
Many on social media, including some Republicans, denounced the portrayal as racist.
The full video of the viral Oabamas as monkeys. Obviously there are all kinds of race and people as monkeys.
— Joel A-LA (@JoelAlfonsoLA) February 6, 2026
I don't care what democrats say . The real damage is what Obama did to us as the great divider. pic.twitter.com/v824Zkpdda
The video was posted on Truth Social on February 5 and was deleted about 12 hours after. The footage shows discussions on unsubstantiated voter fraud allegations in the 2020 presidential election before showing the Obamas'.
Reportedly, the X account behind the infamous video was mentioned in the Epstein files. Although the handle, Xerias_x, is not directly linked to Epstein, it is mentioned in relation to a video posted about the current FBI director, Kash Patel.
“Congratulations Kash, Best video ever of you! YOU ROCK!,”, the communication with redacted names reads.
The X account that created the video Donald Trump shared depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes was previously behind the clip the US president shared that portrayed him as a pilot dumping excrement on "No Kings" protesters. Note the matching watermark. pic.twitter.com/SNVwrKds2q
— Bill McCarthy (@billdmccarthy) February 6, 2026
However, the Justice Department has clarified that mere mention of the name in the documents is not proof of any wrongdoing. There are no allegations made against the X handle as well.
While speaking to the reporters, Trump said he had watched a part of the video before it was posted. It was taken down "as soon as we found out about it," he added. The first part of the video looked fine, he said. The initial part of the video debunked claims about fraud in voting machines.
“Nobody knew that that was in the end. If they had looked, they would have seen it, and would have had the sense to take it down."
After seeing the video, he said he had passed it along to a staffer and said that the person should have reviewed it fully before posting. When asked about whether he would apologise for the post, he said, "I didn't make a mistake."
The AI-generated scene shows the Obamas in a jungle setting with what appear to be gorilla bodies. The video shows Trump's face on a lion, calling him the 'King of the Jungle'.
After an immense backlash, blaming the video on a staffer, the White House deleted the clip. This deepfake video is the latest after a fake video of Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero.
GOP Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate, called the video racist and urged Trump to remove it.
Reacting to the video, Jeffries said, "F*** Donald Trump." He added that the video was posted intentionally by Trump.
Jeffries posted on X, calling the Obamas "brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans. Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder."
