An openly racist video depicting the Obamas as monkeys in a jungle. The clip posted by Donald Trump, which received thousands of likes, sparked a storm. It drew bipartisan criticism at home and harsh condemnation from the EU, which stated that "racism, hate speech, and illegal content have no place online, not because the Commission says so, but because they are illegal in real life."

The White House attempted to defend the post, dismissing it as an "internet video meme depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King." "Please stop this fake outrage and talk about something that's truly important to the American public," spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt responded. But a few hours later, the AI-generated video was removed, with blame placed on a staff member who had posted it by mistake. Meanwhile, the tycoon had also faced another wave of outrage, following the revelation that he had made the release of federal funding for a rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey conditional on the naming of the iconic Penn Station in New York and Dulles Airport in Washington after him: a megalomania bordering on a personality cult, according to his critics.

The shocking video, one of Trump's many late-night posts, denounces manipulation of the electoral machinery in key states, with a final scene in which the smiling faces of the Obamas are superimposed on those of two primates, while the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" plays in the background. Other Democratic leaders—including Hillary Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Kamala Harris—are depicted as animals, including Joe Biden, depicted as a primate eating a banana. Everyone bows to The Donald, who appears as a lion. "Trump is a despicable, deranged, and evil individual. Why do Republican leaders like John Thune continue to support this sick person? Every single Republican must immediately denounce Donald Trump's disgusting bigotry," attacked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. California Governor Gavin Newsom, the Democratic frontrunner for the White House, condemned the president's "disgusting behavior," calling on all Republicans to denounce him.

Some have done so, starting with African-American Senator Tim Scott, who dreamed of becoming the Republican Obama : "It's the most racist thing I've ever seen come from this White House," he said, calling for it to be removed. Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP (the oldest and longest-running US organization fighting discrimination against black people), also called the video "openly racist, disgusting, and despicable." A spokeswoman for Obama said the former president would not comment. It's not the first time Trump has attacked Obama, whose American birth he's contested for years with the 'Birther' theory and whose Nobel Prize he envies. Or Democratic leaders: he recently posted a racist video featuring Jeffries wearing a sombrero and a Mexican mustache.

But he's never sunk so low before, to the point of reviving a racist trope historically used by slave traders and supporters of segregation to dehumanize people of color and justify lynchings and other atrocities. Trump, however, has a history of making disparaging comments toward African Americans, women, and immigrants. And during his second administration, official accounts for the White House, the Department of Labor, and Homeland Security shared images and slogans that evoke white supremacist messages.

(Unioneonline)

© Riproduzione riservata