California Democrats in the Assembly voted unanimously on Monday to pass a resolution condemning racism in the wake of a racially offensive video posted to President Donald Trump’s social media. (Screenshot from Floor Session livestream)
California Democrats along with a handful of Republicans passed a resolution in the Assembly condemning a racist social media post made by President Donald Trump last week. The post depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as primates.
House Resolution 84 was introduced by Assemblymember and Vice Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus Isaac Bryan (D-Culver City) in response to not only the president’s post, but also his refusal to apologize. Of the 15 Republicans who were present for the House vote, nine voted with Democrats to condemn the action, while six did not cast a vote.
“Last Thursday night, President Donald Trump celebrated the 100th anniversary of Black history in a way that made every active Klan member in the country proud,” Bryan said during the Feb. 9 Assembly Floor session. He continued, “He posted a video that depicted [the Obamas] as dancing primates. He continued the celebration into Friday by doubling down on the video’s good humor before eventually being forced to take it down in shame, disgust and disgrace.
“And as the country has waited for any semblance of leadership, we’ve all been left staring nakedly at a coward who blamed an unnamed staffer for what he continues to insist was never a mistake and still doesn’t deserve an apology,” Bryan said.
Background
The video was posted to Trump’s Truth Social account around midnight last Thursday. The post stayed up for nearly 12 hours.
The administration’s response to the strong public backlash was scattered. The morning after the post, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement the response was “fake outrage,” and urged the media to “report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
A few hours later, the White House said a staffer had mistakenly posted the video and it had been taken down. When pressed about the incident on Air Force One, Trump said he had only seen the first part of the video, which made debunked claims of voter fraud.
After watching the first section of the video, the president said he passed it along to a staffer to post and that the staffer “slipped and missed a very small part.” Trump told reporters he is “the least racist president you’ve had in a long time,” and that he would not apologize because he “didn’t make a mistake.”
House Resolution 84
“[Trump’s] post was not merely ‘offensive’ or ‘in poor taste,’ but a direct act of racial dehumanization that perpetuates a violent and hateful history,” reads the resolution.
The resolution rejects racism, condemns white supremacist messaging, and reaffirms California’s commitment to “stand in solidarity with Black communities and all people targeted by hate.”
It also calls for the president to issue a public apology to the Obamas and Black Americans across the country.
The resolution received support from the LGBTQ, Latino, Asian American Pacific Islander, Jewish, Native American and Women’s Legislative Caucuses.
“[Trump’s] Truth Social post was racist, consistent with a long pattern of racist remarks that have fueled division and hate in this country,” said Assemblymember and Vice Chair or the Legislative Latino Caucus Liz Ortega (D-San Leandro) in a statement to CALÓ News. “Everyone – regardless of party – should be outraged and call it out for what it is.”
Last week’s incident was certainly not the first time the president has made racially offensive remarks. During his first presidential run in 2016, Trump repeatedly referred to Latinos as “rapists” and “animals.” Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump also doubled down on the racist conspiracy theory claiming Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating dogs and cats.
“It is heartbreaking at a time when there should be bipartisan efforts to eradicate the dehumanization and the animalistic tropes that underbed slavery in this country,” Bryan said Monday, “that instead of that bipartisan effort, the leader of our nation is feeding into it, cultivating it, building a new generation of support wrapped around it and weaponizing it in lethally consequential ways.”