Here Are the Republicans and Trump Loyalists Who Demanded He Take Down Obama Ape Video
(Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP photo)
Hours before President Donald Trump finally took down a racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, numerous Republicans and loyalists slammed the commander in chief for posting the clip in the first place.
The video, mostly focused on pushing a conspiracy about manipulated vote-counting machines, briefly showed an AI-generated snippet of the heads of the former president and first lady affixed to the bodies of apes as The Tokens’ song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played.
Posted on Trump’s Truth Social account late Thursday, it remained for a little over 12 hours before it was yanked around noon on Friday.
The clip, posted during Black History Month, sparked a furor across social media, with numerous political figures slamming the president and demanding he take it down and apologize.
And it wasn’t just Democrats, as Republicans joined the pile-on.
Leading the way was Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, who said that it was “the most racist thing I’ve ever seen out of this White House.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) agreed, saying it was “appalling.”
Batya Ungar-Sargon, one of the few pro-Trump voices on CNN, called the clip “gross and racist.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said the video “should be deleted immediately with an apology offered.”
Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) called the Obama imagery “offensive, heart breaking, and unacceptable,” and said Trump “should apologize.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) also condemned the post in a statement.
Piers Morgan, the British TV presenter and former Celebrity Apprentice contestant, called the video “vile racist imagery” and called on Trump to delete it “immediately.”
And it wasn’t just lawmakers, but even some Trump voters speaking out:
After the video was deleted, a Trump staffer told Politico’s Sophia Cai that the president “didn’t see the video (legitimately didn’t), a staffer posted it.”
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