Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina publicly criticized President Donald Trump on Friday after a now-deleted Truth Social post briefly depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes in an artificial intelligence-generated meme video.
Scott labeled the post “racist” and urged the president to remove it. In a message posted to X, Scott said he hoped the clip was fake, calling it the most racist thing he had seen come out of the White House. He added that the president should take it down. The post was later deleted.
The controversy centered on a short clip Trump shared Thursday on Truth Social. The video, which appeared to automatically play after an unrelated clip posted by the president, included an AI-generated segment portraying Trump as the “King of the Jungle” and Democrats as characters from The Lion King. At the beginning of the meme, the Obamas were briefly depicted as apes.
Scott’s criticism quickly drew attention inside the administration. Axios Trump White House reporter Marc Caputo later posted on X that a White House official said the post had been made in error by a staffer and had since been removed. According to Axios, the clip remained live for roughly 12 hours before being deleted.
“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement reported by Axios. She added that the post did not reflect an intentional message from the president.
Trump’s Truth Social post reportedly included only part of the video that featured the Obamas, rather than the full meme circulating online. The partial clip, critics argued, stripped away broader context and amplified the most inflammatory portion of the video.
The incident prompted swift backlash from Democrats, anti-Trump Republicans, and media commentators. Mediaite reported that critics across the political spectrum condemned the post and demanded accountability.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office weighed in forcefully, calling the post “disgusting behavior by the President.” In a statement posted to X, Newsom’s press office said every Republican should denounce the video immediately.
Scott, one of the most prominent Black Republicans in the Senate, has at times defended Trump but has also publicly criticized him when he believes lines have been crossed. In this case, Scott made clear that he viewed the imagery as unacceptable, regardless of its origin or intent.
The White House’s explanation that a staffer mistakenly posted the clip appeared aimed at containing the fallout, but the episode nonetheless added to ongoing debates over the use of AI-generated political content and the responsibility of elected officials for material shared on official platforms.
While the post was ultimately removed, the reaction underscored lingering divisions within the Republican Party over Trump’s conduct and messaging. For critics, the incident reinforced concerns about inflammatory content circulating online. For defenders, the staff error explanation suggested the controversy was the result of poor judgment rather than deliberate intent.
As the story spread, the deleted post continued to draw scrutiny, highlighting how quickly digital content can ignite political firestorms — even after it is taken down.
