US President Donald Trump has sparked widespread outrage after posting a video on social media that depicts former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.

Trump shared the video early Friday on his Truth Social platform while promoting claims of irregularities in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden. Biden served as Obama’s vice president between 2009 and 2017.

In the one-minute clip, Phil Waldron, described as a cybersecurity expert, alleges “treachery” during the election, claiming that vote counting stopped simultaneously in five key states and that election software was used to rig results. He further alleged that when counting resumed, there was a surge in votes in favour of Biden.

At the end of the video, AI-generated monkey figures, portrayed as Barack and Michelle Obama, appear dancing to The Lion Sleeps Tonight, a popular song associated with Disney’s The Lion King franchise. Trump posted the video twice.

The post has drawn sharp criticism from political leaders and the public. In a statement, the press office of California Governor Gavin Newsom described the video as “disgusting behavior by the President,” urging Republicans to denounce it.

The video has also triggered backlash across social media platforms, with many users accusing Trump of promoting racist imagery and deepening political divisions.