The American leader noted that he only watched the beginning of the video, although he suggested that there might be moments at the end "that people won't like." He added, "I wouldn't like it either, but I haven't seen it," emphasizing that he condemns the racist elements in the video.
The scandalous 62-second video was published on Truth Social, the social media platform owned by Trump, on February 5. It is dedicated to the conspiracy theory that he won the 2020 election but that the results were falsified in favor of Joe Biden. At the end of the video, an image of Obama and Michelle appears with monkey faces superimposed on them, while the popular song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" from the animated film "The Lion King" plays in the background.
Initially, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt justified the publication by stating that the video simply portrays Trump as the king of the jungle and Democrats as cartoon characters. However, about 12 hours later, the video was removed, and the White House issued a statement saying that it was published by one of the staff members by mistake.
