WASHINGTON (NBC) - President Donald Trump has removed a racist video he posted to social media late Thursday night that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
While the White House initially defended the video, it was met with swift backlash — including from Republicans — who said it was “unacceptable” and “racist” and asked Trump to take it down and apologize. It was removed shortly before noon on Friday.
“A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down,” a White House official told NBC News.
The roughly minute-long video focused on false election fraud claims about the 2020 presidential election, but at the end it suddenly flashed to a clip of the Obamas’ faces superimposed on the heads of cartoon apes as the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens played in the background.
The imagery, which evokes long-standing racist tropes against Black people, comes during Black History Month, which honors the accomplishments and contributions of Black Americans. Barack Obama made U.S. history as the first Black president.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to NBC News’ request for comment Friday morning with a statement: “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from ‘The Lion King.’ Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
Leavitt referred NBC News...
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