White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing, February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Al Drago
President Donald Trump is drawing vehement criticism after forwarding, on his Truth Social platform, a racist AI-generated video depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. And the Trump White House is responding to the controversy by attacking Democrats.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in an official statement, said, "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."
But CNN reporter Edward-Issac Dovere noted a problem with Leavitt's explanation.
Dovere, in a Friday morning, February 6 post on X, wrote, "The White House press secretary’s response is that the Obamas as apes in the video Trump posted is just because they it was a spoof of characters from The Lion King. There are no apes characters in The Lion King. (Closest is Rafiki, who is a mandrill.)."
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