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President Donald Trump, a documented racist, drew swift condemnation on Friday night after he posted a video on his Truth Social account depicting former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.
As reported by The Guardian, the racist depiction of the Obamas was part of a longer video that featured "false and disproven claims that ballot-counting company Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the 2020 presidential election" from Trump.
The outrage over the post was immediate, even as Trump's racism is well known and documented over many years.
"The most foundational racist idea is likening Black people to apes," said Howard University historian Ibram X. Kendi in a social media post. "Since humans evolved from an ape-like ancestor, racist ideas cast white people as the most evolved people and the furthest away on the evolutionary scale from apes. Racist ideas cast Black people as the least evolved people and the closest on the evolutionary scale to apes. Almost all racist ideas build on this foundational one expressed by Trump."
A screenshot of the video Trump shared:
Tom Jocelyn, senior fellow at the Reiss Center on Law and Security, predicted how Trump and his allies would defend his promotion of obvious racism.
"Let’s call out a game Trump and MAGA play," he wrote. "1. Trump posts, says or does something racist. 2. Some point out it’s racist. 3. Trump (with MAGA’s help) pretends to be the victim for being called a racist. MAGA stews in its imaginary grievances. 4. Rinse and repeat."
Mark Jacob, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, called out the New York Times for writing that it was "unclear if Mr. Trump was aware" that the racist depiction of the Obamas "had been included in the video before he shared it."
"What the hell is the New York Times doing?" he asked. "In its article on Trump posting a video that included a clip of the Obamas as apes, NYT tries to help him come up with an excuse."
Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser under Obama, argued that Trump's post was yet another sign that he will be remembered as a deeply loathsome historical figure.
"Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures," he wrote, "while studying him as a stain on our history."
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President Donald Trump, a documented racist, drew swift condemnation on Friday night after he posted a video on his Truth Social account depicting former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.
As reported by The Guardian, the racist depiction of the Obamas was part of a longer video that featured "false and disproven claims that ballot-counting company Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the 2020 presidential election" from Trump.
The outrage over the post was immediate, even as Trump's racism is well known and documented over many years.
"The most foundational racist idea is likening Black people to apes," said Howard University historian Ibram X. Kendi in a social media post. "Since humans evolved from an ape-like ancestor, racist ideas cast white people as the most evolved people and the furthest away on the evolutionary scale from apes. Racist ideas cast Black people as the least evolved people and the closest on the evolutionary scale to apes. Almost all racist ideas build on this foundational one expressed by Trump."
A screenshot of the video Trump shared:
Tom Jocelyn, senior fellow at the Reiss Center on Law and Security, predicted how Trump and his allies would defend his promotion of obvious racism.
"Let’s call out a game Trump and MAGA play," he wrote. "1. Trump posts, says or does something racist. 2. Some point out it’s racist. 3. Trump (with MAGA’s help) pretends to be the victim for being called a racist. MAGA stews in its imaginary grievances. 4. Rinse and repeat."
Mark Jacob, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, called out the New York Times for writing that it was "unclear if Mr. Trump was aware" that the racist depiction of the Obamas "had been included in the video before he shared it."
"What the hell is the New York Times doing?" he asked. "In its article on Trump posting a video that included a clip of the Obamas as apes, NYT tries to help him come up with an excuse."
Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser under Obama, argued that Trump's post was yet another sign that he will be remembered as a deeply loathsome historical figure.
"Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures," he wrote, "while studying him as a stain on our history."
President Donald Trump, a documented racist, drew swift condemnation on Friday night after he posted a video on his Truth Social account depicting former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.
As reported by The Guardian, the racist depiction of the Obamas was part of a longer video that featured "false and disproven claims that ballot-counting company Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the 2020 presidential election" from Trump.
The outrage over the post was immediate, even as Trump's racism is well known and documented over many years.
"The most foundational racist idea is likening Black people to apes," said Howard University historian Ibram X. Kendi in a social media post. "Since humans evolved from an ape-like ancestor, racist ideas cast white people as the most evolved people and the furthest away on the evolutionary scale from apes. Racist ideas cast Black people as the least evolved people and the closest on the evolutionary scale to apes. Almost all racist ideas build on this foundational one expressed by Trump."
A screenshot of the video Trump shared:
Tom Jocelyn, senior fellow at the Reiss Center on Law and Security, predicted how Trump and his allies would defend his promotion of obvious racism.
"Let’s call out a game Trump and MAGA play," he wrote. "1. Trump posts, says or does something racist. 2. Some point out it’s racist. 3. Trump (with MAGA’s help) pretends to be the victim for being called a racist. MAGA stews in its imaginary grievances. 4. Rinse and repeat."
Mark Jacob, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, called out the New York Times for writing that it was "unclear if Mr. Trump was aware" that the racist depiction of the Obamas "had been included in the video before he shared it."
"What the hell is the New York Times doing?" he asked. "In its article on Trump posting a video that included a clip of the Obamas as apes, NYT tries to help him come up with an excuse."
Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser under Obama, argued that Trump's post was yet another sign that he will be remembered as a deeply loathsome historical figure.
"Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures," he wrote, "while studying him as a stain on our history."