DNNPOST 07/02/2026 President Donald Trump said he “didn’t see” the portion of a social media video he shared that included a racist clip depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, after the post drew bipartisan backlash and was removed.
The clip appeared at the end of a 62 second video Trump shared that included false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election. The post was later taken down from his Truth Social account.
Asked whether he would apologize, Trump told reporters he “didn’t make a mistake,” saying he only watched the beginning of the video before a staff member posted it and did not know the clip was included. He said, “I didn’t see” that part of the video and added that he relied on staff to review posts in full.
The White House initially defended the post as an “internet meme video,” but later said a staffer had “erroneously” shared it and removed the content after backlash. Republican Sen. Tim Scott said the video was “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” while Rep.
Mike Lawler called the post “wrong and incredibly offensive” and said it should be deleted with an apology. Sen. John Curtis said the video was “blatantly racist and inexcusable.”
The clip originated from content circulated online by a conservative meme creator and included depictions of several Democrats as animals.
The Obamas have not publicly commented. Civil rights groups condemned the post, and Democratic leaders said the episode reflected a pattern of racially charged content associated with the president’s online activity.
