Trump shares racist video depicting the Obamas as monkeys

President Donald Trump shared a video clip on his Truth Social account Thursday evening depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.

The video, about a minute long, otherwise focused on false claims of voter fraud surrounding the 2020 presidential election, but at the very end, it suddenly flashed a clip of the Obamas’ faces superimposed on cartoon monkey heads while The Tokens’ song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played in the background.

The images, which evoke long-standing racist tropes against Black people, come during Black History Month, which honors the achievements and contributions of Black Americans. Barack Obama made American history as the first black president.

A White House official responded to NBC News’ request for comment Friday morning with a statement: “This is taken from an internet video depicting President Trump as the king of the jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King. Please stop this fake outrage and report today on something that actually matters to the American public.”

The video the White House is referring to appears to have been originally posted by an X user in October and shows the Obamas as monkeys at the beginning and the faces of other Democrats as the heads of other African animals while the song continues to play. For example, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is depicted as a warthog and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker as an elephant, while Trump is depicted as a lion.

Representatives for the Obamas did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.

Trump’s rebroadcast drew sharp criticism on social media, including from Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who sharply denounced the president on

The president used his Truth Social account to promote AI-generated videos attacking his political enemies. He shared another manipulated video clip last September, amid a looming government shutdown, depicting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wearing a sombrero and cartoon mustache as he stood silently next to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.. Mariachi music played in the background.

During his second term as president, Trump issued executive orders targeting and eliminating federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs that were expanded under Democratic presidencies, including Obama’s, and increased deportations and restrictive immigration policies.

Trump also has a history of disparaging immigrant groups, most recently including Minnesota’s Somali community. The president has previously been criticized for associating with white nationalists, including Nick Fuentes, and embracing far-right influencers with a history of making racist and inflammatory remarks.

The video that Trump reposted Thursday focused primarily on false claims about voting machine anomalies in 2020. The president repeated the false claim that he won the 2020 election against Joe Biden, and last week his FBI searched and seized 2020 voter records at an election center in Fulton County, Ga., which county officials are suing to recover.

Contacted for comment after the search, the FBI said it could not provide details about an ongoing investigation.