President Donald Trump removed a video from his Truth Social account after a brief clip showed former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama depicted as apes, triggering fast and fierce criticism from both sides of the political aisle.

The minute-long video, shared late Thursday, largely focused on unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 election. Near the end, an apparent artificial intelligence-generated clip spliced in images of the Obamas’ faces superimposed on primate bodies set to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The post remained on Trump’s account into Friday morning before it was taken down.

Republican criticism came quickly. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the only Black Republican in the Senate, wrote on X that he was “praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” He added, “The President should remove it.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office also took aim at the post. On X, the governor’s press office wrote, “Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now.”

Prominent commentators piled on. Former Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said on X, “Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history.”

Rep. Herb Conaway (D-N.J.) wrote on X, “Trump is a vile racist old man.”

The White House initially defended the video. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the clip came from “an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.”

She added critics should “stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”

By midday Friday, the posting had been removed. A White House official told CNN that “a White House staffer erroneously made the post,” adding it was taken down after the backlash.

Trump himself later addressed the matter as he flew to Florida aboard Air Force One, saying, “I didn’t make a mistake,” and declining to apologize for sharing the post.

The episode drew attention because it came during Black History Month and revived long-standing concerns about racial imagery in political discourse. Depictions of Black figures as apes have a deeply racist history in the United States, and critics said the video evoked that painful legacy.

The Obamas have not publicly commented on the incident. Trump’s communications team did not immediately clarify whether the president personally approved the post before it went live.

The incident adds to growing scrutiny of Trump’s use of social media to circulate provocative content, including memes and AI-altered videos that have drawn controversy for their tone and implications.