The racist post depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes has disappeared. Even Republican senators and civil rights organizations demanded its removal. But the course of this affair says more than the mere deletion.
On Thursday evening, the clip had been distributed through Trump’s account on Truth Social. The Obamas, the first Black presidential couple of the United States, with superimposed faces on animated ape bodies in the jungle, dancing to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Simply posted online. At the same time, false claims about alleged election fraud in the 2020 presidential election were once again amplified, although courts across the country as well as his own attorney general from his first term found no evidence of any relevant fraud. As criticism mounted, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt initially responded with deflection. It was an internet meme, the president had been portrayed as “King of the Jungle,” the outrage was “false.” One should report on issues that truly matter to the American public. Those words remain. And they contradict the later account.
A few hours later, the post was deleted. Now it was said that a staff member had mistakenly published the video. The president was allegedly not responsible, but a staff member. Responsibility shifted downward. Fortunately, the staff member who apparently has free access to the president’s account did not declare war on Europe. That is precisely the problem. It is simply not credible. When an official account distributes content, the officeholder bears political responsibility, regardless of who technically pressed the button. The spokesperson’s defense and the later blame shifting do not align. Anyone who speaks of “false outrage” in the morning can hardly credibly explain in the afternoon that the post was an accident.
A spokesperson for former President Obama said there would be no comment. That, too, is a signal. While in the White House the sequence was first to downplay, then to delete, and finally to delegate responsibility. The episode once again reveals a pattern: provocation, defense, retreat. And in the end, the impression remains that firmness applies mainly where there is no serious pushback. As soon as criticism arises from within their own ranks, corrections follow - but without clearly assuming responsibility.
The post is deleted. The statements made before it are not. And that is where the lasting damage lies.
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