Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee introduced a resolution to censure and condemn President Donald Trump after Trump shared a social media video that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. Cohen called the post racist and said it demanded a formal response from Congress.
Trump posted a racist depiction of our first Black President and First Lady. It wasn’t an accident or “fake outrage”—it was racist, vile, and it disgraced our country.
— Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) February 14, 2026
I introduced a resolution to censure and condemn Trump and demand he apologize to President Obama, Michelle… pic.twitter.com/KPA0jh3ENO
The controversy began after Trump, during a late-night series of social media posts, shared a 62-second video promoting conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Near the end of the clip, which was set to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” an edited segment portrayed former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. The video prompted swift backlash, including criticism from members of Trump’s own party, and was later deleted.
BREAKING: Full video that briefly appeared on President Trump’s TruthSocial post. pic.twitter.com/eLLD8yjxmq
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) February 6, 2026
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One the following day, Donald Trump said he had only viewed the beginning of the video and did not see the offensive portion before it was posted. “I just looked at the first part, it was about voter fraud in some place, Georgia,” Trump said. “I didn’t see the whole thing.” He suggested that he had passed the link along for someone else to post and maintained that he had not made a mistake. “No, I didn’t make a mistake,” he said when pressed, offering no apology and even defending his record on racial issues, declaring, “I am, by the way, the least racist president you’ve had in a long time.”
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
Cohen, a Democrat who represents Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, responded by introducing a resolution formally censuring and condemning Trump. In a statement accompanying the measure, Cohen said, “Trump posted a racist depiction of our first Black President and First Lady. It wasn’t an accident or ‘fake outrage’—it was racist, vile, and it disgraced our country.”
He added that depicting the Obamas in that manner “was not an accident, not a joke, and not ‘fake outrage’ — it’s racist, it’s vile, and it disgraces our entire country. Members of the House have a duty to stand up and push back … and that’s what I’m doing.” The resolution calls on Trump to apologize to former President Obama, Michelle Obama and the country.
The episode marks the latest instance in which Trump has faced criticism for sharing content widely viewed as racially offensive. The backlash, including from some Republicans, underscored the sensitivity surrounding racial imagery involving the nation’s first Black president and first lady. Cohen’s resolution seeks to place the House on record condemning the post and formally rebuking Trump’s actions, escalating the political response to the incident.
