Trump’s Controversial Truth Social Post Depicting the Obamas Ignites Firestorm

6 February 2026

President Donald Trump stirred a major political uproar recently after posting a video clip on his Truth Social account that included a brief sequence portraying former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, a depiction that many critics immediately denounced as racially offensive and dehumanising. The minute-long video was initially shared on Thursday night but was removed about twelve hours later following a wave of bipartisan condemnation from lawmakers and public figures who described the imagery as inappropriate and rooted in historically racist tropes. The brief appearance of the apes occurred near the end of a larger clip that included unfounded claims about the 2020 election and other sensational content.

The fallout from the post was swift. Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, one of the most prominent Black lawmakers in Trump’s party, called the video “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House” and urged that it be taken down immediately. Other Republican colleagues also weighed in, with some describing the post as offensive and urging accountability from the president or his staff for allowing it to be published in the first place. On the Democratic side, criticism was no less forceful, with figures from both parties highlighting the sensitive history of comparing Black individuals to apes, a metaphor that has been used for generations to demean and dehumanise people of African descent.

In response to the growing backlash, the White House initially dismissed the outrage as exaggerated, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling it a meme that referenced a parody video and accusing critics of “fake outrage.” Later, officials said the post had been made in error by a staffer with access to the account, and the video was ultimately deleted. Despite that, President Trump himself later defended the post when discussing the matter with reporters. He claimed that he had not viewed the full video prior to its publication and that he did not see anything offensive in the portion he had seen. When asked about whether he would apologise to the Obamas, he declined, reinforcing the idea that he did nothing wrong and that the post was intended to highlight his broader messaging.

The controversy occurred during Black History Month, which only heightened sensitivities about the imagery and its implications. Experts on racial representation pointed out that equating Black public figures with animals evokes deeply rooted stereotypes that have historically been deployed to justify discrimination and inequality. In media and cultural commentary, comparisons to apes have long been identified as one of the most offensive and harmful racial slurs, and many commentators said that any responsible public figure should be acutely aware of that historical context.

Former President Obama himself responded to the episode days later, calling the portrayal “deeply troubling” and lamenting what he described as a broader coarsening of American political discourse. In a public statement he noted that offensive depictions like the one on Truth Social do damage to the fabric of public life and distract from substantive debates about policy and governance. Obama’s remarks underscored concerns shared by many observers that political rhetoric in the United States has become increasingly charged, particularly on social media platforms where imagery can spread rapidly and often without clear context or editorial oversight.

The episode has raised questions about the protocols used by the administration to vet content shared on official and semi-official channels, especially those with millions of followers. Truth Social remains a central communication tool for Trump and his supporters, but incidents like this one highlight the risks when provocative or insensitive material is shared without thorough review. Whether the controversy will have lasting political consequences remains uncertain, but it has already sparked broader conversations about race, media responsibility and the role of social platforms in shaping public understanding of political figures and issues.