On the night of 5/2, President Donald Trump's Truth Social account posted a video, over one minute long, reiterating claims of "election fraud" in 2020, which he alleged led to his defeat against Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

Near the end of the video, images of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama were superimposed onto the bodies of monkeys, appearing for approximately one second.

Images of the Obamas with their faces superimposed onto monkeys, excerpted from the video on Trump's social media account on 5/2. _News18_

The video quickly drew strong reactions from many American politicians and the public, with President Trump facing criticism for what was perceived as racist behavior targeting the Obamas.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially downplayed the incident, stating that the image originated from an internet meme depicting President Trump as a jungle king, with Democratic members as animal characters in supporting roles.

She urged, "Stop the manufactured outrage and report on issues that truly matter to the American public."

The video was removed from Trump's account approximately 12 hours later. The former President explained that he "did not watch" the specific part of the video posted on his social media. "I only watched the beginning, not the entire video," Trump stated, adding that he "forwarded the video" to his staff for posting, and they, too, did not watch it completely.

President Donald Trump at the White House on 30/1. _AP_

Former Vice President Kamala Harris rejected this explanation. She asserted, "No one believes the White House's cover-up, especially since they initially defended the post. We all know who Donald Trump is and what he believes."

The Obamas have not yet commented on the incident.

In July 2025, Trump also shared an AI-generated fake video depicting US agents arresting Obama at the White House.

Ngoc Anh (According to AFP, Reuters, CNN)