CNN Anchors Call Out ‘Vile’ and ‘Racist’ Trump Post About Barack and Michelle Obama

CNN anchors like John Berman and Jake Tapper called out a “vile” and “racist” post by President Donald Trump that contains an image depicting President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes:

Trump posted the video to his Truth Social account at 11:44 PM on Thursday night. On Friday morning, Tapper ripped Trump in a series of tweets calling out the “vile and racist” post.

Tapper posted a screenshot of the image and wrote:

From 10:26 pm ET-midnight last night the president posted/re-posted dozens of clips including videos/clips pushing long-debunked 2020 election conspiracy theories after which one features this vile & racist depiction of President and First Lady Obama.

He then reposted a tweet from Christianity Today’s Russell Moore slamming Trump’s message:

Racist. Deranged. Humiliating to our country. The fact that we have decided to pretend to this is normal every day is a moral abomination. Have we any shame?

And every day an entire generation is being told it is “Christian” to support this. God have mercy on us.

Trump White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the post in a statement:

“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”

Tapper called Leavitt’s excuse out, writing “The only part of the ‘internet meme’ the president posted was a clip of the Obamas as apes.”

And on Friday’s edition of CNN News Central, Berman confronted staunch Trump ally Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) over the post, describing it as “overtly racist” and calling for it to be taken down:

JOHN BERMAN: The video was about voter ID and election reform, but at the end, and I don’t know if you can see this, it included a brief image of the Obamas, an overtly racist image of the former first lady and the president as apes here. That was it the end of the video? I don’t know for sure whether the president saw it.

But is this the type of message a president of the United States, under any circumstance, should be sending out to millions of people?

REP. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS (R-FL): Well, I’ve not seen that video till you just showed it to me. But what I’ve tried to do, and I tried to do it on your show today, the number one thing that we need to do is elevate the conversation.

…

JOHN BERMAN: But again, in the theme of elevating the discussion, and I know you weren’t aware of that video, I don’t think you were before we just showed it to you, but should it remain on Truth Social? Is that the kind of thing in the spirit of elevation you would like to see the president take down?

REP. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS (R-FL): Well, I’ll take a look at it right after our show. You kind of threw it at me right here. But it’s something, again, all I can control is what I can can control. That’s what my mom and dad taught me. And what I try to do is elevate the conversation.

Watch above via CNN News Central.

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