Feb. 6, 2026, 12:00 p.m. MT
There is no bottom.
Or if there is, we haven’t reached it yet, and that’s a scary thought.
In one of his late-night social media meltdowns, which seem to occur more and more frequently, Donald Trump shared a blatantly racist video on Truth Social that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. Then the offensive post disappeared and Trump blamed someone else for posting it.
Take a second and read the previous sentence again, and think about what it means. The sitting president of the United States used social media to depict a former president and his wife with the most odious racist trope imaginable. Sure, hours later, he deleted it, but it’s too little, too late. Blaming someone else is no excuse.
Even a few Republicans decried Trump’s racist sharing of the video
It’s tempting to say that it’s shocking but not surprising — this is a president, after all, who has denigrated women reporters and promoted wild conspiracy theories and made racist claims before.
But merely saying that is a cop-out. What Trump did is inexcusable and should be called out as such. And people are calling it out, thankfully. Of course any right-thinking person is offended and outraged. Democrats decried it, as they should. But, stop the presses, even some Republicans were offended. Not many — they’re not exactly busy writing a sequel to “Profiles in Courage” — but a few.
Sen. Tim Scott, the Republican senator from South Carolina and the only Black Republican in that chamber, posted on X, “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it.” This is the same Tim Scott who bends over backwards to appease Trump on almost everything.
But not this. Good for him.
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican representing New York, also posted on X, “The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered.”
Don’t hold your breath for an apology
The video was deleted from the account, hours after Trump shared it. These clowns don’t even have the courage of their pathetic White supremacist convictions. It’s good that it’s gone, but the internet, as they say, is forever.
And don’t hold your breath for that apology.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary and all-around Trump excuse-maker who takes a rather Orwellian approach to her job, was shameless in her inevitable defense, even for her.
“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” Leavitt said in a statement, before the clip was deleted. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
The outrage is not fake. It is genuine and it is warranted. And if it’s not a big deal, why delete it? It makes no sense.
Which tracks.
The White House story keeps changing
Then, of course, since Trump can never be wrong about anything, the story changed. “A White House staffer erroneously made the post,” according to a White House statement. “It has been taken down.” This is the buck stops there presidency.
So which is it? A defensible post or someone else’s fault?
What a pathetic response. It was taken down because it’s wrong and offensive, and seemingly on some level, Trump knows it. Then again, he jump-started his political career by making racist “birther” claims, insisting that Obama was not born in the United States. Spoiler alert: He was.
Millions of people support Trump. He is the duly elected president of the United States, and he has managed to use media, and social media, to amplify his conspiracy theories, racist notions and, of course, himself, to a remarkable degree. What he’s doing may be crazy, but it’s intentional.
So at some point, you have to ask: How much is too much? At what point is a line finally crossed? Or is there a line? At what point are you no longer supporting your country, but supporting one man, and all of the ugliness he brings to the table?
Because if you support the sharing of this video, you support racism. It’s not complicated.
Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Media commentary with a side of snark? Sign up for The Watchlist newsletter with Bill Goodykoontz.
