Washington, — The White House has defended the circulation of an apparently artificial intelligence–generated video portraying former US president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, after the clip was shared on President Donald Trump’s verified Truth Social account.
In a statement issued to Deadline, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed criticism of the video, describing it as part of a broader internet meme. “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King,” Leavitt said. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something that actually matters to the American public.”
The video was posted twice overnight on Trump’s Truth Social account as part of a minute-long clip alleging voting machine anomalies and bearing the watermark PatriotNewsOutlet.com. In the final seconds, a brief two-second segment appears showing Barack and Michelle Obama depicted as apes dancing in a jungle setting to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
The segment featuring the Obamas carries a separate watermark, “@XERIAS_X”, suggesting it originated from a different source. The account associated with that watermark appears to have first posted the video in October last year. The longer clip portrays Trump as a lion, while other Democratic figures, including Hillary Clinton and New York politician Zohran Mamdani, are depicted as animated jungle animals.
BREAKING: Full video that briefly appeared on President Trump’s TruthSocial post. pic.twitter.com/eLLD8yjxmq
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) February 6, 2026
The @XERIAS_X account uses a profile image of the Pepe the Frog meme dressed as Trump and has previously claimed credit for other AI-generated videos reposted by the president, including a controversial clip circulated during last year’s “No Kings” protests.
The White House declined to say whether Trump personally shared the video or whether he was aware that the Obama clip had been embedded within the voting-related footage.
The post drew swift condemnation from Democratic leaders and Trump critics. California governor Gavin Newsom described the video as “disgusting behaviour by the President” and called on Republican officials to denounce it.
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries also criticised the post, calling the portrayal of the Obamas offensive and racially charged. “President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans who represent the best of this country,” Jeffries said. “Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder. Why are Republican leaders continuing to stand by this behaviour? Every single Republican must immediately denounce this disgusting bigotry.”
The controversy comes amid a surge of activity on Trump’s Truth Social account, which has recently shared a series of unrelated viral videos, including light-hearted clips featuring animals and visual effects. However, the account has previously faced criticism for reposting content widely condemned as racist or demeaning. Last year, it shared a manipulated image of Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a fake moustache and sombrero, prompting backlash and denunciations at the time.
The latest incident has renewed debate in Washington over the use of AI-generated political content, online misinformation, and the standards applied to presidential social media activity in an election-sensitive environment.
