Washington: Donald Trump has come under fire after posting a controversial video on social media showing former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama as chimpanzees in the forest. This video has been removed after heavy criticism, but Trump has clearly refused to apologize for it. He says that he did not commit any mistake. This video was posted on Trump’s social media platform ‘Truth Social’ on Thursday night. As soon as the video surfaced, there was a sharp reaction from both the Republican and Democrat parties. Amidst increasing pressure, the White House got it removed and later called it an employee’s mistake.

White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt had initially called the controversy an ‘unnecessary outrage’, but after criticism intensified, it was decided to remove the video. In this 62-second clip, pictures of the Obama couple were superimposed on the faces of chimpanzees amid false claims of irregularities in voting machines related to the 2020 elections. In the video, Trump was shown as the ‘king of the jungle’, while many Democrat leaders including Joe Biden were presented as animals.

Why was there protest?

This video had already been shared by a radical meme making account. After this was reposted, serious questions were raised about racism. Congressional Black Caucus head Yvette Clarke called it an example of the ‘toxic and racist environment’ in the White House. Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, America’s oldest civil rights organization, called the video disgusting. He says that through such actions, Trump is trying to divert attention from the real problems of the country, especially economic issues and cases related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump surrounded even within his own party

Interestingly, many leaders of Trump’s own party also condemned this post. Republican senators Tim Scott and Roger Wicker called it unacceptable and demanded an apology. America has a long racist history of associating the black community with animals, which was once used to justify slavery and discrimination. Barack Obama has been the victim of such derogatory and racist depictions many times during his presidency.