Is there anything beneath Donald Trump?
We’re just weeks into 2026, and Epstein files releases and ICE laying siege to US cities continue to dominate headlines.
Some will say that his video of the Obamas as apes is a deliberate distraction attempt.
Others argue that he just sees racism as its own reward. Take a look:
This is shocking, but not — from him — surprising
On Thursday night, Donald Trump’s Truth Social account shared something abhorrent and racist.
Even more so than usual, that is.
The post contains an AI-generated clip in which Barack and Michelle Obama appear as apes.
(His account also shared two separate videos spreading disinformation about voting machines, likely to continue pushing his election denial grievances)
In the racist Obamas video, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” plays while these anthrocephalic apes dance in front of a jungle background.
This vile video features a tag, “@XERIAS_X,” which may link to a profile on the decaying platform that was once Twitter.
That account has a profile image of Pepe the Frog, an innocuous cartoon infamously coopted about a decade ago by white nationalists (particularly by Groypers, which is Nick Fuentes’ faction).
This is the same account that claims credit for the genAI slop last year that showed Trump piloting a fighter jet that dropped human waste upon crowds of Americans.
Memorably, Trump also boosted that video.
In any other time, with any other president in the past half-century, this would be unprecedented, unpresidential, and would draw fiery condemnation from the POTUS’ own party.
Who will condemn the racist video? Don’t hold your breath
But Trump doesn’t care about right and wrong, and it’s clear that his loyalists don’t, either.
We’re sure that some within the GOP will speak up, but not many.
These days, Republicans condemning Trump tend to be those who are no longer in office or no longer seeking office.
We don’t need to sing the praises of North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis when he roasts Kristi Noem or blasts Stephen Miller or rails against Trump’s authoritarian overreach.
Tillis isn’t running for reelection, so he’s free to express his (clearly authentic) loathing for Trump without fear of being primaried. How many of his fellow Republican senators feel the same, but will remain silent out of cowardice?
How do we already know how few of Trump’s loyalists will speak out? Because this is hardly a first.
Just last year, Trump shared a racist edit in which House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wore a sombrero and a fake mustache in a despicable caricature of a Mexican man.
(Jeffries is not of Mexican descent, which makes this racist video confusing but no less offensive)
Truth be told, there is a solid segment of Trump’s base — particularly among the terminally online white grievance voters who espouse white nationalist views — who believe that being racist, bigoted, offensive is a goal unto itself, on par with any policy.
We’ve referred to this as malice signaling. Journalist Kat Tenbarge refers to this as vice signaling, and she’s right. The goal is to advertise that you wish harm upon people, and aren’t willing to hide your intentions.
‘Economic anxiety’ doesn’t make you post a video like this
In this case, Trump is exciting the considerable portion of his base who voted for him the first time in 2016 because they resented having a Black president and wanted revenge.
He is their revenge. Everything that he does to make life worse for almost all Americans is part of their revenge.
One wonders how the countless mainstream pundits who have spent the past decade arguing that Trump isn’t racist and that his supporters merely have “economic anxiety” are feeling right now.
(Just kidding — personal reflection and growth is arguably antithetical to their jobs, which is to express views that make wealthy and powerful men feel comfortable)
Trump supporters voted for this. Even those who aren’t personally racist considered it a small price to pay for … whatever they did want from him. Higher grocery prices, maybe?