Trump shares video depicting Obamas as monkeys, also repeating election fraud claims

By Fatma Zehra Solmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) – US President Donald Trump is under fire for sharing a social media video showing former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys, a clip that also repeats widely debunked claims that the 2020 US presidential election was rigged.

Using AI manipulation, the video, originally produced by the far-right outlet Patriot News, depicts Barack Obama – the nation’s first Black president – and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, imagery widely recognized as racist and historically used to dehumanize Black people. The images shared early Friday came during Black History Month, marked in the US every February.

The clip was quickly condemned, with California Governor Gavin Newsom, a leading Democrat and frequent Trump critic, saying through his press office: "Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now."

The video shared by Trump on his Truth Social account also repeats widely rejected claims that voting machines used in key battleground states were manipulated to favor former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, which Trump lost.

The clip alleges that a voting machine contained a hidden wireless modem used to transmit election data and claims that vote counting was deliberately paused in several states where Trump was leading before resuming with large vote increases for Biden.

“The voting machine tapes clearly indicate modem engagement and transmission of election data,” the video claims.

It further alleges that “forensic access” to a vote tabulator revealed a foreign-manufactured wireless chip embedded in the machine’s motherboard and claims that Dominion and other voting systems were used to alter election results.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from him, despite losing dozens of court challenges and acknowledgments from federal and state authorities that the election was secure.

In recent remarks, Trump has rehashed his stolen election allegations, further suggesting that the federal government should “nationalize” congressional elections this fall in at least 15 states.

Politicians and legal scholars have criticized the suggestion, pointing out that under the US Constitution, states are in charge of elections.

This November, Democrats are currently favored to win back one or both houses of Congress, a historically normal pattern in midterm elections.

Trump has also repeatedly also said that any election that he or his Republican Party fail to win is by definition rigged or unfair.