MSNBC's Joe Scarborough unleashed a furious condemnation of Donald Trump on Friday's edition of Morning Joe, responding to a video the former president posted that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The controversial video, which originated from a pro-Trump account on X before being reposted by Trump on Truth Social, has been widely denounced as racist by figures across the political spectrum.
Scarborough's Blistering Critique
Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida who changed his affiliation to independent in 2017, expressed profound offense at the video's content. 'I mean, at this stage all you're doing is hurting the Republican Party,' Scarborough declared during the broadcast. 'All you're doing is hurting your support in the center. All you're doing is making yourself look pathetic, Republicans, for not standing up to this open racism and bigotry.'
The host emphasized that in normal political circumstances, such behavior would be immediately disqualifying for any presidential candidate. 'Again, in normal times, this would end somebody's political career that day,' Scarborough fumed. 'Every Republican in normal times would have come out and attacked this racism and this bigotry.'
Republican Backlash and Video Details
The video, which Trump deleted later on Friday morning after it had been liked and reposted thousands of times, showed the faces of the former president and first lady superimposed on the bodies of primates. It was accompanied by The Tokens' song The Lion Sleeps Tonight and promoted Trump's repeatedly debunked claims that Democrats 'stole' the 2020 election.
In a rare moment of GOP criticism, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina – the Senate's only black Republican – publicly condemned the post. 'Praying this was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House,' Scott wrote on X around 9:45am Friday. 'The President should remove it.'
White House Response and Broader Context
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the video in a statement to the Daily Mail, describing it as 'an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King.' She added, 'Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.'
Scarborough, joined by his wife and co-host Mika Brzezinski, argued that such content fundamentally damages Republican electoral prospects. 'They think Democrats are going to get angry,' Scarborough said. 'It's just – all of this stuff destroys Republican support among the very voters they need to win elections.'
The video controversy emerged against a backdrop of Trump's longstanding allegations about the 2016 election, including claims that Obama sent spies to monitor his first campaign amid Russian interference accusations. The Trump administration has refused to apologize for the post, which featured AI-edited imagery of the former first couple while promoting baseless election fraud claims.
