I read an article from the BBC on February 6 entitled, “Trump says he ‘didn’t see’ part of video with racist clip depicting Obamas as apes,” which was written by Bernd Debbusmann, Jr. This video, which was on Truth Social for approximately twelve hours, was based on the 1994 Walt Disney film The Lion King.
The highly sarcastic video was accompanied by the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” which depicted Trump’s present and past political opponents as various jungle animals and other creatures.
Predictably, Trump’s face was depicted as a lion or “King of the Jungle” while his numerous Democratic political opponents were depicted as a tortoise (Kamala Harris), baboon (Joe Biden), giraffe (Chuck Schumer), warthog (Hillary Clinton), and donkey (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), etc.
In my opinion, there are obviously overt and avowed racists in the White House. I wonder who they are?
I am suspicious that Trump saw the entire 62-second video before it was uploaded to Truth Social, but I lack any proof. Trump claimed that “he had only seen the beginning of the video before it was posted by a junior staff member, and didn’t know that it contained that depiction of the Obamas.”
He must think that I was born yesterday. Trump has duplicitously disliked Obama’s policies along with his false birther accusation since 2011, and I am reasonably certain that he previewed the entire video before it was uploaded to Truth Social.
The creation of The Lion King video probably had to involve more than one person. That is because it had to be created, edited, and proofed by most likely numerous people before it was ever finally approved and uploaded to the Truth Social server, and broadcast worldwide on the internet.
If I am wrong, the Trump White House obviously has no smart check and balance system in order to prevent mistakes or screw-ups involving Truth Social. However, I admit that this is pure speculation.
The White House is not a one-man show unless President Trump fully created and published the meme, which I extremely doubt.
The video probably involved a lot of teamwork in its production. Blaming it solely on a solitary “junior staffer” does not fully explain this media disaster.
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the video was from “‘an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as animated characters from the Lion King.'”
Leavitt slyly and cleverly replied, “‘Please stop the fake outrage [my emphasis] and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.’” I am sure that Nazi Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels, would have been proud of the racist meme and her rationalizing attempt to change the subject.
What these White House Republican staffers do not understand is that the Obamas are members of the loyal opposition. They are neither traitors nor the enemy.
They are certainly neither apes nor monkeys.
Demeaning and depicting the Obamas as apes or monkeys is like depicting a Caucasian man or woman as an extinct, hirsute, knuckle-dragging caveman or cavewoman resembling a Neanderthal. That is not exactly complimentary.
The so-called “junior staffer,” who is being blamed for the video, needs to be named, blamed, and shamed, and then summarily fired. What is sad is that this meme is what I would expect from the extreme political right, such as the Ku Klux Klan, the Proud Boys, or a grossly immature racist 25-year-old staffer skilled in software.
I have no proof, but I suspect that nothing was posted on Truth Social without President Trump‘s full imprimatur or approval. He still is the majority shareholder of Truth Social holding as much as a “57% majority ownership” as of November 13, 2024.
In my opinion, Trump‘s sense of humor is really screwed up. It makes him look like a two-faced hypocrite and juvenile racist.
What is so strange is that the Lion King meme was in diametrical contrast to the jovial, friendly, and good-natured exchange between Presidents Obama and Trump during Jimmy Carter‘s funeral at a corner front pew of the National Cathedral on January 9. The exchange between the two men seemed like a reunion of two long-lost friends.
Or so it seemed.
Obviously, appearances can be extremely deceiving, especially in belligerent and phony Washington.
What is most disturbing and sad about this entire meme is that Trump never once apologized or expressed outrage.
Hey, Mr. President, Happy Black History Month. You may want to forsake some of your Diet Cokes and read a biography of either Frederick Douglass or the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. It might do you some good.
Robert L. Maronic
