The White House has removed an AI video of the Obamas from President Donald Trump’s verified Truth Social account after initially defending the post, marking a rare public reversal by the administration.
“A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down,” an official confirmed, according to an update provided after the clip triggered widespread criticism.
The controversy began after Trump’s account twice shared a minute-long video overnight that focused on alleged voting machine anomalies. The video carried a PatriotNewsOutlet.com watermark. In its final moments, a two-second clip appeared showing former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama depicted as apes dancing in a jungle setting to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had earlier defended the post in a statement sent to Deadline. “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,” she said.
The clip featuring the Obamas included an “@XERIAS_X” watermark. The account appears to have originally posted the video in October last year. The 55-second meme portrays Trump as a lion, while Hillary Clinton and Zohran Mamdani are depicted as a warthog and hyena respectively.
@townflexnews This is the video President Trump posted that portrays the Obamas as apes; it features others as well. more news on townflex.com #foruyou #fyp #meme #us #unitedstates ♬ original sound – Townflex News
The @XERIAS_X account uses a profile image of Pepe the Frog dressed as Trump and has previously claimed credit for the “fighter jet poop” AI video posted by Trump during the “No Kings” protests last year.
The video quickly drew condemnation from political opponents and public officials. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s X/Twitter account posted: “Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has previously criticized similar content shared by Trump’s account, also responded strongly. “President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans. They represent the best of this country,” he said. “Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder. Why are GOP leaders like John Thune continuing to stand by this sick individual? Every single Republican must immediately denounce Donald Trump’s disgusting bigotry.”
Trump’s Truth Social account has previously shared posts that critics described as racially offensive. Last year, the account posted a video depicting Jeffries with a fake mustache and sombrero, which he denounced at the time.
The post featuring the AI video of the Obamas appeared during a series of unrelated uploads on Trump’s account, including a clip showing a dog magically appearing from behind a kitchen counter when hearing whipped cream being dispensed.
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