Let me be clear, because clarity matters in moments like this.
I’m not implying racism.
I’m not wondering aloud about intent.
I’m not both-sides-ing what we can all see with our own two eyes.
I’m saying it plainly: Donald Trump’s latest post showing Barack and Michelle Obama as apes in a jungle setting is racism. And we must call it out, especially when it comes from the highest office in the land.
The recent Truth Social post from the President of the United States demeans us all, arriving with a particular sting on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Black History Month.
The now-deleted video wasn’t a “misstep.” It wasn’t satire. It wasn’t some clumsy pop-culture reference gone wrong. It was racist imagery rooted in one of the oldest, ugliest tropes in American history – dehumanizing Black people by comparing them to animals.
And before the excuses start rolling in, let’s address the laughable cleanup attempt. The White House tried to wave it away by invoking The Lion King. Newsflash: There are no apes in The Lion King. But even if there were, comparing the first Black president and first lady to animals has never been neutral or accidental.
The White House’s attempt to pivot to Disney references is an insult to our collective intelligence. It is the hallmark of modern gaslighting: To do something overtly harmful and then mock the public for having the audacity to notice.
Was this episode disappointing? Yes. Surprising? Not for anyone who has been watching this administration. It’s not even surprising that the President would choose to post virulent anti-Black imagery during Black History Month. It is not a shock that a President of the United States thinks poorly of Black people. Not when you know that more than 25% of those who have held the office were themselves enslavers.
But it is deeply disappointing that 250 years into our nation’s story, some of us still deny the role that racism plays in shaping our politics and thus all of our lives. When we allow the highest office in the land to traffic in such tropes, we aren’t just witnessing a lapse in decorum; we are witnessing the dismantling of the social contract. Comparing Black people to monkeys is a racist tactic that dates back to the false “sciences” once used to justify slavery. It is meant to strip people of their humanity and make cruelty seem acceptable.
As a journalist, I’ve spent my career believing in objectivity. I was trained to weigh facts and remove emotion. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: Objectivity, when misused, becomes a shield. It allows lies to stand next to truth as if they’re equal. It allows racism to be rebranded as “controversial rhetoric.” It asks us to debate the “intent” of a fire while the house is already in ashes.
And I’m done with that.
Let’s not pretend this incident exists in a vacuum. This is the same man who referred to African nations as “shithole countries,” and who built a political identity on questioning the legitimacy of a sitting Black president. But what makes this especially dangerous – what elevates it from offensive to corrosive – is what he refuses to do afterward.
He never apologizes. He’s never held accountable.
Instead, we’re told he’s just “not politically correct.” Republicans rush to his defense, shrugging it off like the rest of us are too sensitive. Let me say this plainly, too: This is not about political correctness. This is about racism. Period.
Racism doesn’t require a hood or a slur. Sometimes it looks like memes. Sometimes it looks like silence. Sometimes it looks like power wielded without consequence. When the President hits “send,” he signals to every extremist that the guardrails are down. He tells every Black child in this country that their dignity is subject to his whim.
We – journalists, citizens, voters – have a responsibility to call it what it is. Sugarcoating racism doesn’t make it go away; it makes it acceptable. It teaches the next generation that cruelty wrapped in sarcasm is somehow less cruel.
It’s not.
So yes, I’m calling a spade a spade. History has taught us what happens when we don’t. I refuse to be complicit in the lie that this is anything other than what it is.
PS: Just in case you didn’t know – and since facts still matter – Barack Obama is not in the Epstein files.
#Carryon.
