Washington, DC — Claims circulating on social media and in news coverage that President Donald Trump shared a video containing a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama are supported by documented evidence.
On February 6, 2026, Trump posted a 62-second video to Truth Social that focused largely on voting machines and claims related to the 2020 election. Near the end of the clip, for roughly one second, the faces of Barack and Michelle Obama appear superimposed onto the bodies of apes while the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” plays. The video included a visible watermark from the X account @XERIAS_X, a pro-Trump meme account, indicating the footage was reused rather than originally created by Trump.
The imagery prompted immediate condemnation from commentators and public figures, who described it as racist. As reported by Axios, the depiction draws on a long-standing racist trope historically used to dehumanize Black Americans. The White House did not dispute the authenticity of the post. Instead, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the criticism as “fake outrage,” describing the clip as part of a broader internet meme portraying Trump as the “King of the Jungle” and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.
Neither Barack Obama nor Michelle Obama publicly commented on the post. Newsweek confirmed the video’s content and noted that it was shared during Black History Month. The video remained online at the time of reporting.
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