House Black Caucus Chair Condemns Trump's Truth Social Post As 'Bigoted And Racist Regime'
Rep. Yvette Clarke says the Truth Social video showed intent to harm and stayed online for 12 hours before deletion.
Overview
Rep. Yvette Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the Truth Social repost depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes showed "intent to harm" and remained online for 12 hours before deletion.
The 62-second clip was reposted to President Donald Trump's Truth Social account at 11:44 p.m. ET on Feb. 6 and included debunked 2020 election claims, records show, prompting the White House to first call outrage "fake" and later blame a staffer.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told followers on X that he was "praying it was fake" and Republican senators including Roger Wicker and Susan Collins publicly urged removal, while NAACP President Derrick Johnson called it "blatantly racist," officials confirmed.
The incident intensified scrutiny of Truth Social content controls and White House posting procedures, and officials have not confirmed whether the staffer who reposted the clip remains employed, leaving potential personnel reviews pending.
The Congressional Black Caucus chair said there has been no outreach from the White House and called for containment of harm, while she warned of political fallout as midterm elections approach and left room for the administration to change course.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the incident as a serious racist lapse by foregrounding terms like "racist" and "dehumanizing," highlighting rare bipartisan GOP rebukes and Trump's defensive denial. Editorial choices—scene-setting, selective emphasis on condemnations and historical context (e.g., birther past)—shape the narrative; quoted statements (Tim Scott, NAACP) remain source content.
FAQ
The 62-second video reposted on Trump's Truth Social account at 11:44 p.m. ET on February 6 included debunked 2020 election claims and ended with a two-second clip superimposing the faces of Barack and Michelle Obama onto ape bodies, accompanied by 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight.'
The video remained online for nearly 12 hours until deletion on February 7. The White House initially dismissed backlash as 'fake outrage,' calling it a meme video, and later blamed a staffer.
Trump stated he only saw the beginning of the video, which was about voter fraud, and did not notice the racist ending, saying 'I didn't make a mistake' and no apology was indicated.
Rep. Yvette Clarke (Congressional Black Caucus chair) called it bigoted and racist with 'intent to harm'; NAACP President Derrick Johnson labeled it 'blatantly racist'; Sen. Tim Scott urged removal, praying it was fake.
The White House blamed a staffer for the erroneous post, but no confirmation on whether the staffer remains employed or if personnel reviews are pending.
