Montgomery County officials issued a joint statement in response to a video shared by the Trump administration on Thursday, February 5, that portrayed former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. 

The clip appeared at the end of a 62-second video shared by Trump’s account which contains claims about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The clip was part of a previously circulated Lion King meme which shows Trump as “King of the Jungle” and depicts Democratic leaders as animals. Former president Joe Biden is depicted as a jungle primate eating a banana.

According to ABC News, President Trump said he sent the video to a staffer to review for posting to his account and claimed he didn’t see the entire video before it was shared on his social media platform. It was removed Friday afternoon.

“I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of picture people don’t like. I wouldn’t like it either, but I didn’t see it,” Trump said. “I just, I looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud.”

According to the Associated Press, when asked if he condemned the video’s racism, Trump said, “Of course I do.”

According to CBS News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the video.

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

The post came in the first week of Black History Month and days after a Trump proclamation cited “the contributions of black Americans to our national greatness” and “the American principles of liberty, justice, and equality.”

The statement by Montgomery County officials says that the video is an “unmistakable act of racism” “meant to provoke, divide, and degrade.”

“The non-response from far too many people is troubling,” the statement says.

The statement’s listed signees include Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Glenside, Senator Maria Collett of Fort Washington, Senator Art Haywood of Abington Township, Representative Napoleon Nelson, who serves Cheltenham, Jenkintown, and Springfield, Representative Nancy Guenst of Hatboro, and Representative Ben Sanchez of Abington Township.

The full statement is below, followed by the list of signees.

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