Republicans, you own Trump's racist video about the Obamas | Opinion
You don't get to express allegiance to Trump and then casually step aside when something like this happens. You own it. It is what you are supporting.
Rex HuppkeHere’s a message to Republican lawmakers who enable President Donald Trump and every American who still supports him: You own the deeply racist video he posted to his social media account in the late-night hours of Feb. 5.
Trump himself or one of his lackeys may have hit the send button on a video portraying former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes – debasing the office of the presidency for the umpteenth time – but it may as well have been sent by any or all who remain loyal to this disgrace of a man.
You don’t get to express allegiance to Trump and then casually step aside when something like this happens. You own it. It is what you are supporting, and it is what you have always supported. Spare me the pearl-clutching.
The racist video Trump posted and later deleted showed the Obamas as apes
The roughly minute-long video clip is, of course, a mess of conspiratorial garbage about the 2020 presidential election, the kind of absurd and dangerous rhetoric Trump spouts routinely and Republicans refuse to condemn. Then there’s a scene with apes in a jungle – possibly AI-generated – with the faces of Barack and Michelle Obama on two of the apes, drumming up one of the most blatantly racist images imaginable.
As the outcry began, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt put out this laughable statement: “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
OK. How about we report on Trump’s name being all over the Jeffrey Epstein files? Or perhaps you’d like the president to post another racist meme to distract from all that.
The White House couldn't keep its lies about the racist video straight
By noon on Feb. 6, the White House’s story had changed. The new excuse was that an unnamed White House staffer “erroneously” made the post. I don’t buy that for a second, but if it were true, it would beg the very serious question: Why are random staffers allowed to post things to the social media account of the sitting president of the United States a few ticks before midnight? That kind of stuff can move markets and start wars.
Tragically for America, it’s not surprising that Trump would post such a thing. He has long hated the Obamas and his racist views are regularly seen, whether he’s deriding Haitians or Somalians or referring to African nations as “s---hole” countries or pining for more White immigrants instead of, you know … others.
That vile video is who he is, and each and every Republican in Congress, and each and every voter who chose him to lead the country, knows it’s true. And based on their continued support, they think it’s just fine.
Few Republicans spoke up, and I doubt any will abandon Trump
Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is Black, called the video “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” That phrasing makes me wonder if Scott would like to discuss all the other racist things he’s seen out of this White House. But his offense won’t mean anything until he disavows the man he has repeatedly stood beside.
The silence from most Republicans was deafening.
Trump has obliterated what President Harry Truman once called “the dignity of the office of the presidency.” Those who continue to back him or stay silent in moments like these bear at least equal responsibility for that.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk