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Rep. John James and President Trump (Photo from campaign video)
Michigan Republican Congressman John James, who is running for governor, condemned a video posted on President Trump’s Truth Social account that included an image of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, depicted as apes. The 62-second video remained on the site for about 12 hours before being removed.
“I was shocked and appalled by that post,” James posted on X on Friday. “I’m glad to see that trash has been taken down.”
At the same time, James, a Trump loyalist, defended Trump’s character, writing:
“I know the President. He is not racist.”
James, 44, is hoping to secure Trump’s endorsement. Trump has publicly expressed displeasure that the two-term congressman is not running for re-election to keep the seat Republican in Michigan's 10th Congressional District, which includes parts of Macomb and Oakland counties.
James was not the only Black Republican on Capitol Hill to condemn the post.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it,” wrote Trump loyalist Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina on social media.
The Associated Press reported that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially said the racist image, which appears to be AI-generated, was part of a video that depicted Trump as “King of the Jungle” and the Obamas and other Democrats as characters from “The Lion King.” She said a staffer, who has not been publicly named, posted the video.
But the Disney animated classic does not include any characters depicted as apes and is set in an African savanna, not a jungle, the AP noted.
CNN reported that Trump refused to apologize, saying: “I didn’t make a mistake.”
When pressed, he condemned the racist image, saying, “of course I do.”
