The president of america posted a racist video Thursday evening depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. On Friday, the White Home dismissed criticism — however the president deleted the post. Was this episode disappointing? Sure. Stunning? Not anymore.
Final spring, after Pope Francis had died, Donald Trump posted an AI image of himself as the pope simply days earlier than cardinals convened to elect a successor.
So, no — it isn’t shocking that the president would select to submit virulent anti-Black imagery throughout Black Historical past Month.
However it’s disappointing right here in 2026 that an occupant of the Oval Workplace remains to be pondering like that.
Again in 1971, the president of america laughed when the governor of California referred to the African delegates at the United Nations as monkeys. Lower than 10 years later, that governor turned the president of america. And right here we’re, half a century later, and yet one more president has amplified that racist trope.
Which means white supremacy remains to be on the poll.
That Nixon-Reagan-Trump throughline isn’t tightly wound round coverage or precept, however merely that shared worldview. In any case, Nixon created the Environmental Safety Company and Reagan provided amnesty to immigrants — extremely un-Trump-like strikes. No, their commonality is greatest revealed within the delight every man took in an previous racist assault towards Black individuals.
For Individuals who’re 50 and older — roughly a 3rd of the nation — this worldview has been the architect liable for White Home coverage for many of our lives. And but, when Kamala Harris misplaced the 2024 election, the forensic investigation centered on grocery costs and her absence from Joe Rogan’s podcast. Some — in making an attempt to clarify why Harris misplaced — mischaracterized her position on the border or inflated her affect on the conflict in Gaza.
For some motive, race didn’t appear to obtain the identical degree of scrutiny.
This issue was slighted regardless of a long time of knowledge, such because the wave of white nationalists endorsing Harris’ opponent and the birther motion questioning President Obama’s citizenship. The trio of presidents who’re on the document as having fun with depictions of Black individuals as monkeys — Nixon, Reagan and Trump — all used racist canine whistles of their mixed 10 presidential campaigns. Their administrations have tended to be extra anti-civil-rights motion than submit-civil-rights motion.
Our nation’s makes an attempt at understanding ourselves are constantly undercut by the denial that for some single-issue voters, race is their single situation. Not the worth of bacon or their spiritual convictions. Not Gaza. Simply the promise of getting a secure house for prejudice. And when the president of america entertains racist jokes as Nixon did within the Nineteen Seventies or shares racist movies as Trump continues to do, undoubtedly there’s a sense among the many voters that such prejudice has a house within the White Home.
Earlier than Trump used social media to push yesteryear’s ugliness, earlier within the week Harris relaunched her 2024 social media marketing campaign account, calling it a spot the place Gen Z can “meet and revisit with a few of our nice brave leaders, be they elected leaders, neighborhood leaders, civic leaders, religion leaders, younger leaders.” She exhorted: “Keep engaged. I’ll see you on the market.”
Whether or not she plans to run once more in 2028 is unclear. What we do know is she wouldn’t have posted an AI image of herself as the brand new pope whereas Catholics had been mourning Francis (or some other time). We all know she wouldn’t have advocated for immigration officers to racially profile Black and brown Individuals or disregard the 14th Modification to detain youngsters. We have no idea what number of of her coverage proposals she would have been in a position to get throughout the end line in Congress, however we do know her document of public service to the American individuals, in distinction with the present president who’s suing the American people for $10 billion.
There may be nothing incorrect with revisiting Harris’ missteps on the marketing campaign path or debating her electability as she reemerges within the public highlight. However now that Trump has resorted to posting monkey jokes about Black individuals, maybe up to date forensics will think about our effectively established historical past of racism among the many elements within the 2024 election.
It’s not a shock {that a} president of america thinks poorly of Black individuals. Not when you recognize that more than 25% of those who have held the office were themselves enslavers. However it’s disappointing that 250 years into our nation’s story, a few of us nonetheless deny the position that racism performs in shaping our politics and thus all of our lives.
YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow
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Concepts expressed within the piece
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Trump’s posting of racist imagery depicting the Obamas as apes throughout Black Historical past Month represents a troubling continuation of a historic sample, with Nixon and Reagan equally participating with racist depictions of Black individuals[1][3]. The incident reveals that white supremacy stays embedded in American politics throughout a number of presidential administrations, united not by coverage consistency however by a shared worldview that finds amusement in racist assaults towards Black Individuals[1].
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Race has been an under-examined think about current electoral outcomes, with the 2024 presidential election evaluation focusing disproportionately on points like inflation and media appearances whereas overlooking documented proof of racist mobilization, together with white nationalist endorsements and baseless conspiracy theories concentrating on the earlier administration[1]. This omission is especially important given a long time of knowledge demonstrating racism’s affect on voting patterns[1].
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For some voters, racism features as a single-issue precedence—not financial issues or spiritual convictions, however somewhat the peace of mind of getting a politically sanctioned house for racial prejudice[1]. When a sitting president entertains or amplifies racist content material, it alerts to this constituency that their prejudices have legitimacy inside the highest workplace[1].
Totally different views on the subject
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The White Home initially characterised the incident as misrepresented outrage, framing the video as an web meme depicting political figures as characters from “The Lion King” somewhat than specializing in the racist imagery, and urged critics to “report on one thing as we speak that really issues to the American public”[1][2]. This framing prompt the controversy represented distraction from substantive governance issues[3].
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The White Home later attributed the submit to an inaccurate motion by a workers member somewhat than deliberate presidential conduct, creating distance between the president’s acknowledged intentions and the offensive content material[3]. This rationalization positioned the incident as an aberration in workers administration somewhat than reflective of administrative values[3].
