On Friday, Trump posted a video that depicted former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. The post and Trump’s attempt to cover up his responsibility make clear that the president is a racist liar. It is the most despicable statement by a US president ever (except possibly for other racist and sexist statements by Trump).
The only point of this story that matters is that Trump posted a racist video and then lied about his involvement. But the political backlash against Trump from his own party has been fierce. The combination of mob-style threats and Republican cowardice is no longer strong enough to enforce silence and obedience among members of the Republican Party.
Multiple members of the GOP condemned Trump’s post as racist. And then he lied about the circumstances of its posting—blaming an unnamed staffer who will never be named or fired, because he or she does not exist. See HuffPost, Republicans Condemn ‘Incredibly Offensive’ Trump Post About The Obamas.
Trump’s evolving denials are fooling no one. Trump’s claim that an unnamed staff member posted the video to Trump’s personal social media account at 11:44 p.m. on Thursday evening is not believable.
Trump claimed, “We took it down as soon as we found out about it.” Another lie. The video remained online for twelve hours—long after there was a firestorm of condemnation directed toward Trump.
Indeed, Karoline Leavitt defended the video at 8:06 a.m. on Friday—something she would not have done without first clearing her statement with Trump. The video remained online for another four hours after Leavitt defended it. See Yahoo News, “Trump’s post of the video was deleted, about noon Eastern Time on Feb. 6, 2026.”
Karoline Leavitt dismissed the outcry over the racist post as “fake outrage.”
This 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.
If the outrage was “fake,” Republicans were at the forefront of the fake outrage. South Carolina GOP Sen. Tim Scott was one of the first Republicans to condemn Trump, writing, “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” See The Hill, GOP breaks with Trump White House on Obama post as Tim Scott opens the floodgates.
Per The Hill,
Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) — one of only three House Republicans whose districts voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 — called the video “wrong” and urged Trump to remove it.
“The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered,” said Lawler, who faces a tough reelection race this year and whose district was recently shifted from “lean Republican” to “toss up” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
Per The Hill, Mark Burns, a pastor with ties to Trump, urged him to apologize. Trump demurred, claiming that the post was the work of an unnamed staff person. But Pastor Burns wasn’t buying what Trump was peddling. Burns said,
“That staffer should be fired immediately, and the President should publicly condemn this action,” Burns continued. “This kind of insensitive and racist communication does not reflect the heart, values, or leadership of the President of the United States, nor does it represent the America we are striving to build.”
No staffer has been (or will ever be) identified. In the same breath that Trump claims a staffer was to blame, Trump said, “I did not make a mistake.” See AL.com, Trump says he did not make a mistake with racist, deleted Obama ape meme.
Ultimately, Trump said, “Of course I do” when asked if he condemned the video. So much for the “fake outrage” mocked by Karoline Leavitt in her initial response. See CNBC, Trump condemns racist video showing Obamas as apes after removing it.
Trump’s forced condemnation of the video is just that—forced. There is no contrition, only regret at having been caught. In the past few weeks, the White House has posted racist videos that mocked Hakeem Jeffries and a protester being arrested by ICE.
Finally, few outlets are noting the hypocrisy of Trump’s claim that a staffer posted the video without his knowledge. The claim that an anonymous staffer did it asks us to believe that Trump is not really running his presidency. Where is Jake Tapper when Trump is asserting dementia as an affirmative defense to racism?
The vile racist attack on the Obamas was not an aberration. It fits the pattern of Trump’s attack on DEI and purge of dozens of Black leaders within the administration. See this powerful essay in What Trump Did Today (Substack), When the Hood Comes Off.
What makes this moment damning is not just the imagery—it’s the record that made it inevitable. Trump’s second term has waged a systematic war on diversity itself, rebranding exclusion as “anti-DEI” while methodically stripping people of color from leadership. This has not been subtle, lawful, or dignified. It has been petty, vindictive, and often humiliating.
Charles Q. Brown Jr., a decorated and widely respected Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was sidelined as if merit were a liability once it arrived in a Black body. And he was hardly alone.
Consider the purge: Carla Hayden, the first woman and first African American Librarian of Congress, was terminated by text message—text message—in May 2025, a breathtaking act of disrespect that spoke volumes about how this administration treats historic achievement when it doesn’t fit the preferred image.
Robert E. Primus, the first Black chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, was fired by email in August 2025, governance reduced to inbox cruelty.
Gwynne A. Wilcox, the first Black woman to serve on the National Labor Relations Board, was removed without cause in January 2025, due process discarded because representation itself had become suspect.
Alvin Brown, the only Black member of the National Transportation Safety Board at the time, was also removed—diversity erased not by accident, but by design.
Trump’s vile racist outburst wasn’t an aberration. It was a continuation of racial animus that has been the guiding principle of his administration.
Concluding Thoughts.
It is shocking that Trump has convinced the Republican Party to (publicly) embrace racism as one of its bedrock principles. But something in his attack on President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama touched a nerve in the American people. The Obamas are dignified and graceful, generous public servants who gave their lives to the American people. Their very existence is a rebuke to the ugliness that is Trump’s narcissistic, grievance-fueled relationship with the world.
But even on a day marred by Trump’s racist attack on the Obamas, we can find hope in the hesitant, long-overdue voices of criticism speaking out against Trump from within his party. If Republican elected officials with much to lose are willing to condemn Trump, imagine what rank-and-file Republicans are thinking about their president. So, too, with persuadable independents and disaffected Democrats who stayed home in 2024.
Trump has crossed another line of decency, humanity, and civility. He is not us—at least not most of us. And in that fact lies our national salvation.
NOTE: I am at Disneyland with my family over the weekend (as I write on Friday evening). I will not be able to host a Saturday livestream on February 7, 2026. Thanks for your understanding.
Pro-democracy protests:
On Thursday, Jerry Conlogue celebrated his 300th day standing up for democracy. From 12 - 1 every day, he and others can be found on N. Hwy. 101 in Lincoln City.
I 90 Visibility Brigade, W. Stockbridge, MA
Burlington NC
Reno, NV
Hartford CT —11 degrees!
Littleton, NH - Signs of Fascism
Georgia Ave and Forest Glen Silver Spring Md 27 degrees and snowing about 15 of us
Bedford, MA Massport airport, “LOVE” says it all
Eugene, Oregon
53rd & I-84 on 5 February 2026 in Portland, Oregon.
We just want to put on your radar a nationwide action the Visibility Brigade Movement is conducting this weekend regarding the message:
ICE CAMPS KILL
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