Republican Senator Tim Scott Responds to Donald Trump’s Deleted Post About the Obamas
Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina publicly criticized Donald Trump on Friday after the former president shared and later deleted a video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The video was posted to Trump’s Truth Social account before being removed following backlash. Reports described the clip as portraying the Obamas in a racially offensive manner. After the post circulated online, Scott responded on the social media platform X.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” Scott wrote. “The President should remove it.”
A few hours after Scott’s post, Trump’s video was deleted from Truth Social.
White House Addresses the Deleted Post Following Backlash
After the video was removed, a White House official issued a statement addressing the situation. According to the official, the post was not intentionally shared by the president himself.
“A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down,” the official told The Hill.
Before the video was deleted, the White House initially defended it by characterizing the content as part of an internet meme. Officials said the video referenced The Lion King and depicted Trump as the “king of the jungle,” while Democrats were portrayed as animals.
That explanation did not prevent criticism from members of both political parties. The video continued to circulate online through reposts and screenshots even after it was removed from Trump’s account.