CH Editor's Note: The image above is a screenshot of the offensive post. While I am glad the post was removed from Donald Trump's Truth Social account, I am dismayed that he doesn't feel he should apologize for it. The post and the President's explanation have me questioning if his administration and staffers have been properly vetted and if hatred based on one's race is acceptable to them. - Angela Wittman
Published February 7, 2026
A video reposted by President Donald Trump that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama with the bodies of apes has drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum, including from prominent Christian conservatives and Republican members of Congress who have called the imagery dehumanizing and unacceptable.
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., issued a statement Friday night saying that “Regardless of the circumstances in which the video was made or shared, the depiction of the Obamas was inexcusable, and we are glad the video was taken down."
"Calling someone an ape is intentionally derogatory and dehumanizing,” the ERLC statement reads. “Despite sometimes deep disagreements over policies, in recent years Southern Baptists have declared over and over the biblical truth that every person is made in God‘s image, has the same inherent worth, and should be treated accordingly.”
The post, uploaded initially late Thursday night to Trump’s social media account, included claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election and ended with the Obamas’ faces superimposed on apes’ bodies as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played.
The video was removed on Friday after public outcry, a White House statement and a private call between Trump and black Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who had called the video “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House."
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