“The President is trying to summon our country’s darkest demons to further divide us,” Warnock says after Trump shares video depicting Obamas as apes
“Yes… I saw the racist meme from the President of the United States,” Sen. Raphael Warnock said in a social media post after President Donald Trump shared — and later removed — a video on Truth Social that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, a racist trope that drew swift bipartisan condemnation.
Yes… I saw the racist meme from the President of the United States.
— Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) February 6, 2026
The President is trying to summon our country’s darkest demons to further divide us.
Our nation's spiritual rot is coming from the White House.
I’m calling on all decent and honorable people to condemn this…
Warnock, a Georgia Democrat and senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, accused Trump of trying “to summon our country’s darkest demons to further divide us,” adding that “our nation’s spiritual rot is coming from the White House.” In the post, Warnock urged “all decent and honorable people to condemn this unabashed racism.”
The controversy erupted Friday after Trump’s Truth Social account posted the video, which also promoted false claims about the 2020 presidential election, Reuters reported. The White House initially defended the post as a “meme” but later removed it and said it was posted in error by a staffer, according to Reuters.
Trump condemned the video content but said he would not apologize, telling reporters he had not watched the entire clip before it was posted, Reuters reported.
The incident drew criticism from lawmakers in both parties, including Sen. Tim Scott, the South Carolina Republican and the Senate’s lone Black Republican, who called the post “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House” and urged Trump to take it down, according to reporting by People and The Washington Post.
Civil rights groups also condemned the video. Reuters reported the NAACP described it as “blatantly racist,” while Democrats framed the episode as further evidence of Trump using inflammatory rhetoric to energize supporters.
Warnock’s response added a moral and religious dimension to the backlash, using language that echoed civil rights-era preaching and warning that the country is being pulled toward division. The senator’s post came during Black History Month, when several public figures noted the symbolism of sharing racially offensive imagery at a time typically dedicated to recognizing Black American history and contributions.
The White House did not immediately respond to Warnock’s specific comments. Trump has faced repeated accusations of racially charged rhetoric over the years, including his promotion of the “birther” conspiracy theory questioning Obama’s citizenship and other remarks that critics say have stoked racial animus, Reuters reported.
The episode also renewed scrutiny of content controls inside the Trump White House, particularly around social media posting practices. Reuters said the video was removed roughly 12 hours after it was uploaded as the criticism intensified.
