President of the USA published the video, with an image that superimposes the faces of Michelle and Barack Obama on the bodies of monkeys, in yet another escalation of racially motivated attacks
Donald Trump made a series of posts on social media on Thursday night, including a video with electoral conspiracy theories that ended with an excerpt portraying former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.
The material, which circulates election conspiracy theories that have already been widely debunked, ends with a two-second sequence that portrays Barack and Michelle Obama, the first black president and first lady in American history, as monkeys.
The racist depiction appears at the end of a video that repeats false and debunked claims that vote-counting company Dominion Voting Systems helped rig the 2020 presidential election against Trump. In 2023, the company obtained a $787.5 million settlement from Fox News in a defamation lawsuit related to these same theories.
In the final scene, the smiling faces of the Obamas are superimposed on the bodies of monkeys that shake their heads to the sound of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, the theme from the film Lion King, an image that recalls centuries of racist iconography used to dehumanize black people.
As of Friday, the video had received more than 2,500 likes and been shared more than 1,100 times, with prominent Democrats criticizing the post.
“This is explicit racism. Period. There is no ‘misinterpretation’ and no excuse. That’s how he is, always has been, and that’s why he should never come close to power again,” declared political strategist Adam Parkhomenko on X.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office also spoke out: “Disgusting behavior by the president. All Republicans must denounce this. Now.”
The racist video was one of more than 60 posts made by Trump in a short period, which ranged from repeated lies about the 2020 election to a call for his face to be added to Mount Rushmore.
The relative normalization of such acts, which often frame them as “provocations” or “political tactics” rather than fundamental racist attacks, has been highlighted as a factor that allows the perpetuation and escalation of this type of discourse.
With information from The Guardian on 02/06/2026
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2026/02/06/trump-publica-video-racista-retratando-casal-obama-como-macacos/
