Barack, Michelle Obama Seemingly Respond to Trump's Racist Ape Post

Barack and Michelle Obama seemingly responded to US President Donald Trump's controversial racist post days ago. In a rare move, the Obama Foundation shared a post featuring the former first couple talking about love and marriage.

The Obamas are amongst the high-profile figures with a solid marriage, despite being open about their struggles, especially when they were in the White House. However, the timing of the post is questionable because their wedding anniversary is still eight months away, but it comes on the heels of Trump's social media post featuring them as apes.

'Love Is Beautiful'

On 6 February 2026, the Obama Foundation shared a montage of Barack and Michelle talking about their love story on its official Instagram account. The post captures the couple's sweet moments and a previous interview in which they discussed how their romance began and how they make their marriage work.

'Love is beautiful,' the caption read.

The clip includes Barack's speech in which he calls Michelle not just his wife and the mother of his children, but also his best friend. According to the ex-POTUS, he met Michelle for the first time when he was a summer associate at a law firm. At the time, she was already an attorney.

Obama recounted their first date, when he took Michelle to an art museum and treated her to ice cream. Michelle said they walked on Michigan Avenue, which Barack described as 'romantic.'

'She had a great sense of humour and a great presence about her,' Barack said of Michelle.

Michelle was as affectionate towards her husband, praising him for how he managed the presidency and their family. 'I'm proud of Barack not just because he's a wonderful president, but he's maintained a solid foundation for our family,' she said.

The timing of the post did not go unnoticed. According to TMZ, it appeared to be the Obamas' response to Trump's racist post on Truth Social featuring them as apes. Instead of issuing a formal press release, they shifted the narrative to focus on their shared legacy, strength, and partnership.

The Racist Post

Trump sparked outrage when he shared a clip that the White House described as an 'internet meme video' on Truth Social. The 62-second video was set to the song 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' and contained claims about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

It featured Trump as the King of the Jungle and other prominent Democrats as characters from 'The Lion King'. However, Barack and Michelle Obama's faces were superimposed onto the bodies of apes, appearing to dance with their mouths open. This specific imagery has a long, painful history of being used to dehumanise Black individuals. Critics argued that the post was not merely a political attack but a calculated use of racist iconography.

Trump has since deleted the post after attracting intense backlash.

White House Defends Trump

In response to the outcry, the White House issued a statement defending the US president. According to them, it wasn't Trump who posted the video.

'A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down,' the White House official said.

However, many were not convinced by the explanation. TikTok creator Aaron Parnas believed the White House lied because the post was made after 11 pm, and it was unlikely a staffer was still on duty at that time. 'No, that's typically the president himself,' Parnas said.

Trump 'Didn't See' the Racist Portion of the Video

In his defence, Trump explained that he approved of the post because he agreed with its message about voter fraud in 2020, but he 'didn't see' the racist part because he didn't watch the whole clip. So, he missed the part where the Obamas were featured as apes.

'I look at a lot of thousands of things,' Trump said when asked about the issue while aboard Air Force One on Friday, 6 February, the BBC reported. He added that after watching a portion of the clip, he 'gave it to the people who, generally, they look at the whole thing.'

When asked if he would apologise for the deleted racist post, Trump said, 'I didn't make a mistake,' insisting that he didn't finish the whole clip and a staff member was the one who shared it.