![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/KB6UP6AYVRFJNG4NJSRRVWLDXM.jpg\")
The video targeted the former president and first lady. They have not responded. Nicholas Kamm\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\nDonald Trump has offered up a bizarre new excuse for posting a racist video depicting the Obamas as apes, claiming it was justified because the clip had already gone viral.<\/p>\n
The president also admitted that none of his staffers had been disciplined over the matter, despite the White House initially blaming an unnamed aide for \u201cerroneously\u201d pushing out the vile video on social media.<\/p>\n
The video targeted the former president and first lady. They have not responded. Nicholas Kamm\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a video on, as you know, on voter fraud,\u201d Trump, 79, told reporters when asked about it in the White House on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a fairly long video, and they had a little piece and it had to do with the Lion King. It\u2019s doing very well, uh, it\u2019s been shown all over the place, long before that was posted. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut that was a very strong – and I\u2019m sure you saw it – a very strong piece on voter fraud, and the piece we were talking about was all over the place, many times I believe, for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Disgusting](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/6DW6CWAHQ5DFBO7MI6QOLH7XVQ.png\")
The disgusting image of the Obamas, superimposed onto apes. Truth Social <\/p>\n
The video was posted last week during a wild overnight spree from Trump\u2019s Truth Social account that involved no fewer than 66 posts between 10:36 p.m. and 12:25 a.m.<\/p>\n
But the extent to which it had been distributed \u201call over the place\u201d for years is not clear.<\/p>\n
The video mostly pushed false claims about the 2020 U.S. election being stolen due to manipulated voting machines. <\/p>\n
However, at the very end, it suddenly shows former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama with their faces superimposed on the bodies of chimpanzees, set to the song \u201cThe Lion Sleeps Tonight.\u201d <\/p>\n
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President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that no one had been disciplined over the post. Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images <\/p>\n
The image of the Obamas using an old racist trope sparked a furious backlash – including from Republicans who demanded that it be taken down immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cPraying it was fake because it\u2019s the most racist thing I\u2019ve seen out of this White House,\u201d said Trump ally Tim Scott, the sole Black Republican in the Senate. \u201cThe president should remove it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is totally unacceptable,\u201d wrote fellow Republican Roger Wicker. \u201cThe president should take it down and apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially sought to justify the actions of her boss, telling the media: \u201cPlease stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, a few hours after Leavitt\u2019s defense, the Truth Social post was gone, with the White House blaming a staffer for it. <\/p>\n
The only two people known to have access to Trump\u2019s Truth Social accounts are White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and former One America News personality Natalie Harp.<\/p>\n
Asked Thursday if Trump had disciplined or fired the staffer, he simply replied: \u201cNo I haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s latest bizarre excuse comes merely a day after he embarked on a posting spree touting his friendship with Black celebrities.<\/p>\n
Among them was convicted felon Diddy, accused child molester Michael Jackson and ear-biting boxer Mike Tyson.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow quickly people forget. So Sad! President DJT,\u201d Trump wrote alongside a video of him kissing Black babies and posing with high-profile Black people.<\/p>\n
![\"One](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4JGWP5NJBVDR7OS2555LI5VHVU.jpg\")
One of Trump’s Truth Social posts highlighted his friendship with Mike Tyson. Truth Social <\/p>\n
Next Wednesday, the White House also plans to host a reception in honor of Black History Month, with the Republican National Committee hosting a \u201cBlack Americans for Trump\u201d trailblazer reception following the event.<\/p>\n
Trump insists he\u2019s done \u201cmore for Black Americans than anybody with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the president has had a history of incendiary rhetoric over the years. <\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/N4SSPXCENJHFRONLU34C7J2Z4Q.png\")
The White House posted a racist sombrero meme of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. X <\/p>\n