Kamala Harris accused President Donald Trump of a “cover up” after a deleted White House video showed Barack and Michelle Obama depicted as apes.
The minute-long clip, reportedly shared from Trump’s account by a staff member, portrayed the president as a lion towering over political rivals cast as animals.
Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama appeared near the end with their faces superimposed on apes bouncing to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” from “The Lion King.”
Other Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Sen. Adam Schiff, were also rendered as animals.
No one believes this cover up from the White House, especially since they originally defended the post. We are all clear-eyed about who Donald Trump is and what he believes. https://t.co/RbUsqAtQzD
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 6, 2026
Trump, who was depicted as the king of the jungle, was eventually bowed to by all the other political animals.
Harris blasted the explanation offered by the White House, arguing that the controversy went beyond a rogue post.
“No one believes this cover up from the White House, especially since they originally defended the post,” Harris wrote on X. “We are all clear-eyed about who Donald Trump is and what he believes.”
Republican criticism followed within hours as lawmakers demanded the video be removed and an apology issued.
Sen. Tim Scott called the depiction of the Obamas “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.”
Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it. https://t.co/gADoM13ssZ
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) February 6, 2026
Rep. Michael Lawler declared, “The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered.”
Rep. Mike Turner weighed in on X, noting he does not respond to every controversy but adding that the images were “offensive, heart breaking, and unacceptable. President Trump should apologize.”
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick warned that “Racism and hatred have no place in our country—ever. They divide our people and weaken the foundations of our democracy.”
Sen. Susan Collins echoed Scott’s reaction, posting, “Tim is right. This was appalling.”
The White House insisted a staff member placed the video online and removed it once concerns surfaced.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected claims of any malicious intent and urged critics to move on.
“Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public,” Leavitt stated in a message earlier Friday.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he spoke with Scott and believed the matter had been understood. He explained that he had viewed only part of the clip before it went live.
“I looked at the first part and it was really about voter fraud and the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is, then I gave it to the people, generally they look at the whole thing, I guess somebody didn’t, and they posted and we took it down,” Trump said.
“But that was voter fraud, that nobody talks about. The post, we took it down as soon as we found out about it.”
The president maintained he condemned the imagery but rejected the idea that he bore fault.
“Nobody knew that that was at the end,” Trump added. “If they would have looked they would have seen it and probably they would have had the sense to take it down. But that was a take-off of ‘The Lion King’ and a lot of people were covered in different positions.”
Democratic leaders escalated the rhetoric as they framed the episode as deliberate.
Sen. Bernie Sanders labeled the video “disgustingly racist” and pressed Republican colleagues to respond.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries charged that the post was intentional and delivered a blistering rebuke in a video message.
“F— Donald Trump and his vile, racist and malignant behavior,” Jeffries said. “This guy is an unhinged bottom feeder. President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, caring and patriotic Americans. They represent the best of this country.”
Jeffries also called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson to condemn what he described as repeated misconduct from the Oval Office.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who also appeared in the clip as an animal, responded through his office’s account with a poll asking followers, “Who should Trump fire first?”
The list included Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, Border Patrol commander-at-large Greg Bovino, and the “racist monkey vid staffer.”
Leavitt later addressed the uproar during an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle,” reiterating that a staffer shared the meme and that Trump ordered it removed after speaking with lawmakers. She noted that Harris appeared in the clip as a turtle.
“It was a meme that was posted by a staffer on the president’s Truth Social account. It was from a Lion King video depicting, as you pointed out, different Democrats as different animals,” Leavitt said.
“I think Kamala Harris was depicted as a turtle in this video meme. The president did take it down. He spoke with lawmakers today out of respect for them, including Senator Tim Scott.”
Leavitt argued that media coverage of the deleted video ignored major developments under Trump’s administration.
She pointed to economic milestones and a new health initiative unveiled this week.
“The post was removed. But leave it to the leftist media, of course, to talk about this all day rather than talk about the fact that the Dow has broken over 50,000 points for the first time in our nation’s history,” Leavitt said.
“Rather than talk about what President Trump did last night, launching TrumpRX.gov, which is the first of its kind, amazing, beautiful website for direct-to-consumer drug purchases.”
Trump announced the launch of TrumpRX.gov on Thursday and described it as a vehicle to drive down prescription drug prices. He said manufacturers agreed to steep reductions following pressure from his administration.
Leavitt urged Americans to explore the site, arguing it offers access to medications at steep discounts.
“For the American people to go to TrumpRX.gov right now and to purchase prescription drugs that are at a much lower cost, sometimes more than 600% less, because of the successful deals that this president negotiated with pharmaceutical companies. It’s great news,” she said.
Trump cited price cuts that include Ozempic dropping from more than $1,000 to $199, along with lower costs for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, insulin, asthma inhalers, and fertility treatments.
In November, he secured five agreements with major drugmakers aimed at narrowing price gaps between Americans and overseas consumers.
