Donald Trump sparks outrage after posting an offensive video portraying Barack and Michelle Obama as dancing apes.
In the early hours of Friday, 6 February, Donald Trump once again found himself at the centre of controversy after sharing a video on Truth Social that not only recycled unfounded claims about electoral fraud in 2020, but ended with a deeply disturbing sequence: the faces of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama superimposed onto the bodies of two animated apes dancing to The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
The backlash on social media was immediate. Among the first public figures to condemn the post was California Governor Gavin Newsom, who wrote on X: “Disgusting conduct from the president. Every Republican should denounce this. Now.”
Despite mounting public outrage, Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement to People defending the post. “This is a meme video portraying President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from ‘The Lion King’. Please spare us the fake outrage and focus on reporting on issues that actually matter to the American people,” she said. The original clip referenced by Leavitt also featured edited images showing Trump with the body of a lion, while Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton appeared with their faces superimposed onto other animals.
So far, neither Barack nor Michelle Obama have publicly commented on the incident. However, the media fallout continues to intensify, reigniting broader conversations about the limits of political discourse and the use of racist imagery as a tool of provocation.
Once again, the episode highlights how digital platforms are being weaponised to inflame division — and how quickly offensive symbolism can escalate into a national controversy.
