Republicans across the country condemn Trump’s racist post
President Donald Trump posted a racist video of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama to his Truth Social account last night, depicting them as apes. One Republican called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.”
NYT: Trump Posts Video Portraying Obamas as Apes
By: Erica L. Green, Isabella Kwai | 2/5/26KEY EXCERPTS:
- President Trump posted a blatantly racist video clip portraying former President Barack Obama and the former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, the latest in a long pattern by Mr. Trump of promoting offensive stereotypes about Black Americans and others.
- The brief clip, set to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” was spliced near the end of a 62-second video that promoted conspiracy theories about anomalies in the 2020 presidential election.
- The depiction of Mr. and Mrs. Obama as apes perpetuates a racist trope, used historically by slave traders and segregationists to dehumanize Black people and justify lynchings and other atrocities.
- Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina — the Senate’s only Black Republican — wrote on X that he hoped the post was fake “because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it.
While Scott and Republicans in other states were quick to condemn the racist deepfake video, Republicans running for Senate like Buddy Carter, Mike Collins, and Derek Dooley are actively courting Trump’s endorsement, while in the Governor’s race Burt Jones proudly and frequently touts his Trump endorsement, Rick Jackson brags about being a Trump donor on the air, and Brad Raffensperger and Chris Carr have backed this administration’s agenda that is jacking up costs and gutting health care.
In response, DPG Chair Charlie Bailey released the following statement:
“Today Donald Trump endorsed the most vile racism imaginable. Why would any decent human being want the endorsement of a person like this? Any other Republican president in the past would’ve faced calls to resign from within his own party for this kind of hatred.
“Republicans running for office in Georgia must answer: will they be cowards and silently condone rank bigotry from their party leader, or will they show an ounce of respect for the Georgians whose votes they’re seeking by condemning this hateful garbage?”
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