White House removes Trump’s racist video targeting the Obamas following public backlash

WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday removed a video promoting election conspiracy theories that featured racist imagery of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The move came after President Trump shared the video on social media, sparking swift condemnation from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. A White House official said the post was "posted by mistake" by a staffer and has since been deleted.

The video, which lasted over a minute, pushed false claims regarding the 2020 election. A two-second segment near the end of the clip featured the heads of the Obamas superimposed onto the bodies of primates.

Trump told reporters he "only saw the beginning" of the video and missed the controversial images.

Lawmakers including Republican Sen. Tim Scott and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned the post, calling the content "racist" and "unacceptable." A spokesperson for the Obamas said the former first family has no comment at this time.

The recent controversy transcends a mere social media lapse, emerging instead as a pivotal political stress test. The most significant development is not the anticipated criticism from Democrats, but the sharp, public backlash from high-ranking Republicans. When figures such as Senator Tim Scott characterize White House rhetoric as fundamentally racist, it signals that Donald Trump has crossed a rhetorical threshold that even his most reliable allies find indefensible.

This friction places the GOP in a strategic bind, forcing the party to navigate a narrow path between maintaining Trump’s core base and avoiding the alienation of moderate voters and minority groups in a volatile political environment. The White House’s erratic crisis management—shifting from dismissing the backlash as "faux outrage" to scapegoating a staffer—highlights a marked lack of institutional consistency.

Far from an isolated event, the episode fits a well-established pattern of divisive racial rhetoric, echoing the "birther" conspiracy theories Trump championed against Barack Obama years ago. Ultimately, the incident reignites the debate over presidential norms and the extent to which such rhetoric exacerbates systemic social polarization in the United States.

This development has little direct impact on the day-to-day operations of the nail salon industry or phở restaurants in Little Saigon, nor is it likely to disrupt specific immigration pathways such as F2B, H-1B, or EB-5 applications. However, it underscores the racial tensions currently simmering in American politics—a subject that remains a significant flashpoint for the community.

While some older Vietnamese Americans may dismiss these political controversies as secondary to economic stability or remittances, the younger generation raised in the U.S. is often more attuned to the nuances of systemic prejudice. To them, such incidents are warning signs that could eventually jeopardize the safety and standing of all minority groups. Ultimately, this event serves to further widen the existing political and generational rifts within the diaspora.