Trump Faces Rare GOP Backlash Over Racist Social Media Post

Republican lawmakers condemn the president's sharing of a video depicting the Obamas as primates.

Published on Feb. 7, 2026

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President Donald Trump faced rare criticism from Republican lawmakers after he shared a video on social media that included a racist image depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as primates. Several GOP senators and representatives joined Democrats in condemning the post and calling for its removal.

Why it matters

The swift bipartisan backlash represents a notable departure from the typical deference Republican lawmakers have shown Trump, even when he has made controversial statements or taken actions that have drawn widespread criticism. The incident highlights the lingering racial tensions and divisions that have persisted during Trump's presidency.

The details

The video, which appears to be AI-generated, showed the Obamas and other Democrats depicted as characters from the Disney film "The Lion King." However, the White House initially claimed the video portrayed Trump as the "King of the Jungle," despite the fact that the film does not include any ape-like characters. The White House later said the video was erroneously posted by a staffer.

  • The video was posted to Trump's social media account on February 8, 2026.

The players

Donald Trump

The 47th President of the United States, who is serving his second term in office.

Barack Obama

The 44th President of the United States, who served from 2009 to 2017.

Michelle Obama

The wife of former President Barack Obama, who served as the First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017.

Tim Scott

The only Black Republican senator and chair of the Senate GOP's campaign arm.

Pete Ricketts

A Republican senator from Nebraska.

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What they’re saying

“Praying it was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House. The President should remove it.”

— Tim Scott, Senator (Social media)

“Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this. The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize.”

— Pete Ricketts, Senator (Social media)

What’s next

The White House has not indicated whether Trump will apologize or if the video will be permanently removed from his social media accounts.

The takeaway

This incident highlights the ongoing racial tensions and divisions that have persisted during Trump's presidency, as well as the rare bipartisan criticism he has faced from Republican lawmakers, who have typically been reluctant to publicly disagree with the president.