- Donald Trump posted a video on Truth Social showing the Obamas as apes
- Ben Rhodes called Trump a historical stain and labelled his followers as racist on social media
- Trump previously used AI videos mocking Black leaders Barack Obama and Hakeem Jeffries
US President Donald Trump was slammed after he posted a video on social media depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The one-minute-long video posted on Trump's Truth Social platform on Thursday repeats false allegations that ballot-counting company Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the 2020 election from him.
Near the end of the video, the Obamas are shown with their faces on ape bodies just for a second. The song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" plays in the background when the Obamas appear in the video.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a prominent Trump critic and potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate criticised the post and said that the Republican leader's behaviour was "disgusting".
"Disgusting behaviour by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now," Newsom's press office account posted on X.
Ben Rhodes, a former top national security advisor and close confidant to Barack Obama, said that Trump will be seen as a "stain" in history and also labelled his followers as "racist".
"Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history," he wrote on X.
Trump has mocked world leaders using artificial intelligence in the past too. Last year, Trump posted a video generated by artificial intelligence showing Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office and appearing behind bars in an orange jumpsuit.
Later, he posted an AI clip of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is also Black, wearing a fake moustache and a sombrero.
Obama is the only Black president in American history and backed Trump's opponent Kamala Harris on the campaign trail in the 2024 presidential election.
