The White House blamed “a staffer” for posting that racist Obama video, but an obvious detail reveals a lot about the identity of the “staffer”

You think you’ve seen the Trump White House hit the rock bottom of bad taste, inhumanity and vulgarity, and then they just keep finding trap doors to sink even lower.

On Thursday night, a video was posted to Donald Trump‘s Truth Social account, ostensibly depicting various Democrats as jungle animals stealing the 2020 election. But then the video shows Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.

Trump posted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. Incredibly racist and disgusting. Beneath the office of the presidency, like everything he does.

Every American must condemn this. pic.twitter.com/vYbGgqqv09

— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) February 6, 2026

As outrage about the racist imagery in the video grew on Friday, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended it, telling NBC News:

“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from ‘The Lion King.’ Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”

Of course, as people pointed out about that initial statement, their argument didn’t stack up because there are no gorilla characters in The Lion King.

But there are no gorillas in The Lion King https://t.co/vqGw7Dxq0h

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 6, 2026

Then later on Friday, the video was deleted, with a statement saying: “A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down.”

BREAKING: President Trump removes a racist video depicting the Obamas as apes. The White House initially defended the post, then blamed it on a staffer. https://t.co/eEaaoYMXV4

— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 6, 2026

But, as CNN’s Kaitlin Collins pointed out, the video was posted just before midnight, and we’re expected to believe this was some random staffer sending it from the President’s personal account?

The video was posted shortly before midnight but WH says a staffer is to blame. https://t.co/PYhiKJEMSG

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 6, 2026

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So they are claiming that staffers have Trump's phone in the middle of the night?

I thought their stance was that he "works all night long" lmao

— Bill the Beaver 🇨🇦 (@TrueNorthStr0ng) February 6, 2026

Of course, nobody really is in any doubt about who posted the video.

"The President of the United States was just up at 3 o'clock in the morning reposting memes of himself as The Lion King" is, itself, an absolutely insane sentence that in any other time in history would have prompted discussions of the 25th Amendment.

— one dozen rats at a keyboard (@PanasonicDX4500) February 6, 2026

But even if it was a staffer, it poses even more questions.

they must realize they just walked into yet another scandal, right?

what do you mean a random staffer has unfettered access to the most powerful man in the world’s phone in the middle of the night? and they can post things? and no one reviews it? https://t.co/damXCEgAhO

— Peter Twinklage (@PeterTwinklage) February 6, 2026

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Let’s be clear: there is no universe where Karoline Leavitt should still have a job by the end of today. Dismissing the response to a racist meme from the president as “fake outrage,” saying it “doesn’t matter,” and waving it off as a Lion King joke is a fireable offense.

— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) February 6, 2026

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When Leavitt was asked about it, she defended it & said there was nothing wrong with it.

Now after huge backlash they took it down & are blaming a staffer.

Because it’s always the staffers & advisors, never Trump himself. Even when it’s up on his personal account for 12 hours.

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 6, 2026

Source: Twitter/X/NBCNews