Gov. Gavin Newsom and a number of elected officials joined a wave of national backlash after President Donald Trump shared — and later deleted — a video widely condemned as racist for depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
On Feb. 6, Newsom’s office blasted the President on social media.
“Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now.” the social media post read.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) called for the President to be removed from office.
“Donald Trump is a racist, a stain on our White House and should be removed from office,” Rivas posted on Facebook. “Silence is complicity, and every Republican must speak out and reject his latest racist act.”
Senate Pro Tem Monique Limón called on her colleagues to “denounce this behavior.”
“I will not share the disgusting video depicting our former president and first lady, but I will however call on all, including our Republican colleagues, to vehemently denounce this behavior,” said Limón in a statement.
“The video shared is not just a meme video – the symbolism carries with its centuries of racist pain that seeks to dehumanize our Black community,” she continued. “Please speak out and condemn this behavior. We cannot allow this dialogue to continue.”
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights) posted on his Facebook page on Feb. 6.
“If this is your President and you support this … we really just can’t be friends right now,” said Bryan.
On Feb. 7, Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), responded to Trump on her Facebook page.
“Don’t be jealous because we are not in the Epstein files,” Mckinnor wrote alongside a picture of Michelle and Barack Obama.
The controversy began after Trump posted the video on his Truth Social platform on Feb. 5. The clip promoted false claims about the 2020 election before briefly showing the Obamas’ faces superimposed on primates’ bodies, a trope widely understood as racist.
Trump said he did not watch the full video before it was posted and declined to apologize.
“I didn’t see the whole thing,” Trump told reporters, adding that he only viewed the portion about election fraud. Asked whether he would apologize, Trump said, “No, I didn’t make a mistake.”
He also said he condemned the imagery but maintained he had not personally seen the offensive portion before it was posted.
The White House initially defended the post as part of an internet meme before later saying it had been removed and may have been posted in error.
“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. But there are no apes in ‘The Lion King,’ only a mandrill, Rafiki.
She also dismissed criticism as “fake outrage” and urged media outlets to focus on other issues.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) also expressed outrage about the video and the President’s action.
“Vile. Disgusting. Abhorrent. Racist. And during Black History Month,” Padilla said in a statement. “Truly no words to fully describe how despicable and low the video posted by the President is. America deserves better.”
_____________
By: Bo Tefu, California Black Media
