CBC Chair: Trump’s Post Depicting Obamas As Primates Exposes a 'Bigoted and Racist Regime'

WASHINGTON — Rep. Yvette Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), sharply condemned a racist video that was posted to President Donald Trump’s social media account and remained online for about 12 hours before being removed.

The White House initially dismissed public reaction as “fake outrage,” later deleted the post and blamed a staff member. Trump told reporters, "I didn't make a mistake," and said no one saw the segment that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as primates in the jungle prior to publication. The clip appeared on Truth Social and drew immediate backlash from lawmakers and civil-rights advocates.

Clarke — who leads a group of more than 60 Black House and Senate members — said the episode reflects a broader pattern of behavior from the administration. "It’s very clear that there was an intent to harm people, to hurt people, with this video," she told The Associated Press. "We’re dealing with a bigoted and racist regime."

Interview Excerpts (Edited for Length and Clarity)

AP: What was your reaction when you saw that the post?

CLARKE: We’re dealing with a bigoted and racist regime. Every week the American people are put in the position of having to respond to something cruel or extremely off-putting that this administration does. It’s part of their modus operandi at this point.

AP: Do you accept the White House explanation that an aide posted the video by mistake?

CLARKE: They don’t tell the truth. If there wasn’t a toxic and racist climate within the White House, we wouldn’t see this type of behavior regardless of who it’s coming from. Here we are in 2026, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 100th anniversary of commemorating Black history, and this is what comes from the White House on a Friday morning. It’s beneath all of us.

AP: Has the White House reached out to the Congressional Black Caucus? Is any good-faith exchange possible?

CLARKE: There has been no outreach from the White House. We didn’t expect any. Outreach has to happen prior to these types of juvenile antics.

AP: Why did Republican criticism build more quickly this time than during some past controversies?

CLARKE: It’s not lost on the communities we represent that elections are coming. If they want to align themselves with this kind of profane imagery — a bigoted and racist attack on a former president and his wife — they are throwing their lot in with an individual who has shown himself to be a disgrace.

AP: President Trump rarely retracts anything. What does it signify that he did here?

CLARKE: I think it’s more political expediency than a moral compass. As my mother would say, 'Too late. Mercy’s gone.'

AP: What more do you hope to see from the White House?

CLARKE: My hope is that we can limit the harm they’re doing. Black children listening to their president and seeing what he posts on Truth Social will internalize how they view leadership of their own country. The administration has an opportunity to change course — we leave room for that — but, unfortunately, Donald Trump appears hardwired this way.

AP: Anything else?

CLARKE: As a democracy, we must stand together against racism, bigotry and hatred coming from the president and those around him. It’s very clear there was intent to harm people with this video; otherwise it wouldn’t have stayed up for 12 hours.

___ Barrow reported from Atlanta.