Trump posted images of Michelle and Barack Obama as monkeys on Truth Social

[LetMyPeopleVote]

53. MaddowBlog-White House tries to defend Trump amplifying a racist video targeting the Obamas

After Karoline Leavitt tried to defend the latest example of the president’s routine racism, the White House stepped on her dreadful argument.

Trump amplifying another racist video got me thinking about the commitment he made to Black voters in his second inaugural — and how quickly he returned to the kind of gutter racism that helped fuel his political rise in the first place. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-02-06T16:01:29.577Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-tries-to-defend-trump-amplifying-a-racist-video-targeting-the-obamas

In the fall, for example, the Republican used the term “DEI” as a slur for minorities in blaming their involvement with the construction of Barack Obama’s presidential library. Soon after, the president, as part of an ugly anti-immigrant pitch, publicly referred to Somali Americans as “garbage” and revived his “s—hole countries” rhetoric.

The list, alas, continues to grow longer. The Associated Press reported:

President Donald Trump used his social media account to share a video about election conspiracy theories that includes a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle. […]

Nearly all of the 62-second clip, which was among dozens of Truth Social posts from Trump overnight, appears to be from a conservative video alleging deliberate tampering with voting machines in battleground states as the 2020 presidential votes were tallied. At the 60-second mark is a quick scene of two primates, with the Obamas’ smiling faces imposed on them.

The fact that the Republican president didn’t make the video himself is hardly exculpatory: Trump saw the video and thought it’d be a good to idea to amplify it, just as he did in his first term when he promoted a video of a supporter wearing Trump campaign gear while shouting “white power!”...

Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who is Black, wrote online that he was praying the video “was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” The South Carolinian, who’s currently chairing the National Republican Senatorial Committee, added: “The President should remove it.”....

Complicating matters, a few hours after Leavitt tried to defend the racist video, the White House changed its story, saying in a statement, “A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down.”

Evidently, the press secretary’s “fake outrage” line proved unsustainable.

In his second inaugural address, Trump said: “To the Black and Hispanic communities, I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me with your vote. We set records, and I will not forget it. I’ve heard your voices in the campaign, and I look forward to working with you in the years to come.”

Like too many of Trump’s promises, he wasted little time in trashing this commitment and returning to the kind of gutter racism that helped fuel his political rise in the first place.