WASHINGTON — February 7 The White House on Friday removed a video shared on social media by President Donald Trump that promoted election conspiracy claims and included racially offensive imagery depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
A White House official said the post was made in error by a staff member and was taken down shortly after it drew widespread criticism.
The video prompted condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans, who described it as racist, offensive, and unacceptable. Earlier Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the clip was part of an online meme portraying Mr. Trump as the “King of the Jungle” while casting Democrats as characters from The Lion King.
Leavitt dismissed the backlash at the time, urging reporters to focus on what she described as issues that matter to the American public.
The video, which ran just over a minute, repeated false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump. Near its conclusion, a brief edited segment showed the Obamas’ faces superimposed onto primates while the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played.
Mr. Trump shared the video on his Truth Social account late Thursday night. By Friday, the link to the post had been removed and displayed as unavailable.
