How the President of the USA Posted the Most Racist Video During Black History Month and Karoline Leavitt Became the Ultimate Gaslighter

By Editor-in-Chief, Timothy Gocklin, MBA, MSF

On the first week of Black History Month 2026, President Donald J. Trump’s social media account, Truth Social, posted a video that was extremely offensive and racist, featuring a brief appearance by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, a racial stereotype that has been around for centuries, utilized to dehumanize people of African descent. The video immediately sparked bipartisan outrage, putting the White House on the defensive, and brought Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt into the spotlight, not for explaining, but for dismissing the outrage as “fake” and gaslighting until the video was deleted.

On the night of February 5, 2026, Trump’s social media account posted a video which, for the most part, contained false information about the 2020 election. Toward the end of the video, however, without any warning, it suddenly cuts to a video created by artificial intelligence, showing the faces of the Obamas superimposed over the bodies of dancing apes, singing and dancing to the tune of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

It is crucial to understand that depicting a Black person as an ape or a monkey is not innocuous and is not supposed to be taken lightly, as it is a racial stereotype utilized to dehumanize a person of African descent and deny their humanity, supporting slavery, racism, and bigotry.

The response was quick, and the condemnation was widespread, cutting across party lines. One of the most scathing condemnations came from Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate. Senator Scott, who had endorsed President Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, stated, “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it.”

Senator Scott’s condemnation was all the more scathing since he was a member of the Republican Party, a member of the very party whose standard bearer had posted the offensive image. Other Republicans, including Representative Mike Lawler, also condemned the image as offensive and called for President Trump to delete the post. Democratic leaders joined in as well, condemning the image as an overt display of racism.

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Civil rights groups also condemned the image as “blatantly racist” and “utterly despicable,” reminding the public that Black people have often been associated with primates as a result of white supremacist ideology.

Instead of accepting that the image posted by President Trump was racist, the White House chose to defend the post. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the video, stating, “This video is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”

Leavitt’s defense was widely criticized, not only because the meme video did not feature ape characters in The Lion King, but also because her statement deflected the issue and ignored the racist nature of the imagery. Her response was viewed by critics as an example of gaslighting, minimizing legitimate criticism by denying the obvious.

As outrage over the video continued to grow, the White House reversed course and claimed the post was “erroneously made by a staffer” and taken down shortly after it was published.

President Trump, when questioned by reporters on Air Force One, claimed he only watched the beginning of the video in which election fraud was discussed and did not watch the racist segment at the end. He stated that he gave the video to his staff to post and said he “did not make a mistake,” refusing to apologize for the post.

Although he acknowledged that the video was deleted, President Trump declined to apologize and placed responsibility on staff members rather than accepting personal accountability.

The White House claims that a staffer made an error in judgment by posting the video, but no evidence explaining how this decision was made or by whom has been made public. What is known is that the video, while racist and inflammatory, was posted to a social media account associated with the leader of the United States.

This event did not simply create news headlines. It reignited important questions within American society about racial sensitivity, political leadership, and the role of public officials in the digital age. The fact that one of the most powerful people in the world, regardless of intent, shared imagery connected to some of the most painful racial tropes in American history during Black History Month has forced many Americans to reexamine political accountability and leadership in the age of social media.

At a minimum, this episode demonstrates how fragile civil discourse has become, as a single social media post can reopen deep societal wounds within seconds.

Sources and References

Trump posts the Obamas as apes, Karoline Leavitt gaslights critics
https://www.laura-bassett.com/p/trump-posts-the-obamas-as-apes

Trump shares racist video including Obamas as apes, will not apologize
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-shares-video-includes-racist-depiction-obamas-sparking/story

GOP senator calls video the most racist thing he has seen
https://people.com/tim-scott-calls-video-of-obamas-as-apes-the-most-racist-thing-11901164

Trump posts racist video during Black History Month
https://www.stlamerican.com/news/national-news/trump-posts-racist-video-of-obamas-during-black-history-month/

White House deletes video after defending it
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-shares-racist-video-depicting-obamas-as-apes/

White House dismisses criticism as fake outrage
https://dailydot.com/white-house-response-trump-ai-video-obamas-as-apes

Analysis of how the video raises questions about presidential conduct
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/06/trump-obama-video-racist