House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered a harsh condemnation of President Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him “a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder” while urging Republicans to denounce his behavior. Speaking in strong terms, Jeffries contrasted Trump with former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, saying, “President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans. They represent the best of this country. Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder. Why are GOP leaders like John Thune continuing to stand by this sick individual? Every single Republican must immediately denounce Donald Trump’s disgusting bigotry.”
President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans. They represent the best of this country.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) February 6, 2026
Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder.
Why are GOP leaders like John Thune continuing to stand by this sick individual?…
Jeffries’ remarks came amid a wave of criticism following a post Trump shared on his Truth Social account. The post included a 62-second video that spliced a blatantly racist clip depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, set to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The video also included a brief segment promoting conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. The post sparked immediate backlash from Democrats and members of Trump’s own party, prompting Trump to delete the video shortly afterward.
BREAKING: Full video that briefly appeared on President Trump’s TruthSocial post. pic.twitter.com/eLLD8yjxmq
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) February 6, 2026
During a subsequent interaction with reporters, Trump defended both his record on racial issues and the content of the post. He said, “I am, by the way, the least racist president you’ve had in a long time,” highlighting his efforts on criminal justice reform and funding for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Trump emphasized that his administration had delivered long-term support for HBCUs and credited himself with achieving historically high levels of support among Black male voters. He also called criminal justice reform “maybe more important than anything else,” framing it as a major achievement of his presidency.
Trump: I’m the least racist president you’ve had in a long time as far as I’m concerned. pic.twitter.com/eZ5JIBf5RM
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 7, 2026
Trump further addressed the portion of the video referencing alleged election fraud, claiming it was only a minor section at the end of the clip. He said the post was shared because it highlighted what he viewed as a “credible” concern about elections in certain states. “Probably nobody reviewed the end of it. What I saw was really strong — it was about fraudulent elections. When I see that and it’s credible, you put it up. Somebody slipped and missed a very small part. And by the way, this was done by somebody else. It was a re-truth. It was not done by us. But it was a very strong statement about fraudulent elections in a certain part of our country, which are really bad,” Trump said.
Jeffries’ comments underscore growing Democratic alarm over Trump’s rhetoric and the continued defense he receives from some Republican figures, raising questions about party alignment and political accountability as Trump maintains his role as the sitting president.
