US President Donald Trump is facing sharp criticism after sharing a video on social media that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
U.S. President Donald Trump posted this on Truth Social, which featured the Obamas as monkeys. pic.twitter.com/f0ovYjPnDy
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) February 6, 2026
The one-minute video was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account on Thursday.
False election claims repeated
The video repeats false claims that ballot-counting firm Dominion Voting Systems helped rig the 2020 US presidential election against Trump.
Towards the end of the clip, the Obamas briefly appear with their faces superimposed on monkey bodies, accompanied by the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
Engagement and reaction online
As of Friday morning, the video had received more than 2,500 likes and had been reposted over 1,100 times.
The post drew strong criticism from prominent Democrats.
Democrats condemn the post
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a vocal critic of Trump and a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2028, condemned the video, calling it “disgusting.”
“Disgusting behaviour by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now,” Newsom’s press office account wrote on X.
Ben Rhodes, a former senior national security adviser to Barack Obama, also criticised Trump and said the former president would be judged harshly by history.
“Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history,” Rhodes wrote on X.
