Republican Senator Tim Scott called on President Donald Trump to remove from his social media account a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys, calling it "the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House."
"Praying it was fake," Scott added in a social media publication of his own. The post appears to be removed on Friday noon.
Trump has drawn widespread backlash after sharing the video, which featured the Obamas' faces superimposed on monkeys along with new false claims about the 2020 election.
The one-minute video, originally produced by outlet Patriot News, repeated allegations that ballot-counting company Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the 2020 election in favor of Joe Biden. Near the end of the clip, the Obamas' faces appear on animated monkeys while the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" plays. As of Friday morning, the post had received thousands of likes and reposts.
Political strategist Adam Parkhomenko condemned the imagery in a post on X, writing: "This is overt racism. Full stop. There's no 'misinterpretation' and no excuse. This is who he is, who he's always been, and why he should never be anywhere near power again."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office also criticized the post, stating: "Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now."
Besides the controversial images of the Obamas, the video included claims that voting machines in battleground states were manipulated, that hidden wireless...
President Donald Trump’s social media post featuring former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle was deleted after a backlash from both Republicans and Democ...