Trump posted racist deepfake video depicting Obamas as apes on Truth Social
President Trump posted a purportedly AI-generated video on Truth Social depicting former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes, which was later deleted. The video combined election conspiracy theories with racist imagery that perpetuates dehumanizing tropes historically used against Black Americans.
What happened
President Trump posted a 62-second video on Truth Social late Thursday night that was set to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and spliced near the end a clip portraying former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. The video also promoted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
Trump stated he had only seen the beginning of the video and claimed he gave the link to someone else to post. He offered no contrition when pressed, saying "No, I didn't make a mistake." The White House press secretary initially dismissed criticism as "fake outrage," describing the video as depicting Trump as King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King. Trump deleted the video following widespread outcry.
Reported impact
The depiction perpetuates a racist trope historically used to dehumanize Black people and justify lynchings. The video struck a nerve that appeared to take the White House by surprise, drawing disapproval from Republicans on Capitol Hill, including Senator Tim Scott, the Senate's only Black Republican and a Trump ally, who called it "the most racist thing" he had seen.
Index analysis
The video represents an instance of AI-generated synthetic media being used to create racist content targeting named individuals. The clip combined election conspiracy theories with dehumanizing imagery, amplifying both misinformation and racial hatred on a major social media platform.
Governance controls
Truth Social removed the video from the platform following public backlash. The White House initially defended the post before shifting to acknowledge the controversy.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.