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White House staffers are privately venting frustrations over a now-deleted post on President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes — an error that’s sparked internal questions and rare condemnation from the president’s own party.
One person with direct knowledge of the situation told Semafor that Trump “had not seen the video before it got posted” and was not happy when he learned of the situation. Aides are “pretty pissed off” at the debacle, this person added, including at the person responsible for posting the video.
The identity of that person is still unclear, as well as whether he or she might face further discipline for what a White House official said was an “erroneously” posted video containing the clip of the former president and first lady.
Posted at 11:44 p.m. Thursday night in the midst of a rapid fire of additional Truth posts, the video detailed a conspiracy about voting machines before ending with the clip in question. It drew quick rebukes from several high-profile Republicans. Senate GOP campaign chief Tim Scott of South Carolina, the party’s only Black senator, called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” while Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., deemed it “totally unacceptable.”
Before the post was deleted, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized “fake outrage” over the post, telling news outlets that it was “from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King.”
“You can’t attempt to clean up the mess by continuing to make it messier,” a person close to the White House told Semafor.
A short list of individuals are believed to have access to the president’s Truth Social account, including White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and one of the president’s most devoted aides, Natalie Harp.
The person with knowledge of the situation said Scavino was not responsible for the post but did not identify the culpable individual. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on whether Harp was behind the post.
While Harp frequently posts on Trump’s account, she’s known to do so with his approval.
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Wicker and Scott were not the only elected Republicans to condemn the video clip for its portrayal of the Obamas. Sens. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Susan Collins of Maine spoke out against it on social media, as well as Reps. Mike Lawler of New York and Mike Turner of Ohio.
The White House has not apologized for the post, as Wicker and Turner urged.
Trump has drawn criticism for his social media posts multiple times since resuming office last year, including a post last year that depicted him dropping feces on progressive “No Kings” protesters and another profanity-laced post last year that portrayed Democratic leaders with stereotypical Mexican garb.
Notable
- Trump is a prolific social media user, posting more than 1,600 times in his first 100 days this term, according to an analysis by The Independent.