‘Leave it to the leftist media’: Karoline Leavitt says press hopes Obama monkey video will distract public
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday accused left-leaning media outlets of fixating on a deleted social media post while ignoring what she described as major economic developments under President Donald Trump.
After a backlash, Trump deleted a late-Thursday social media video that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. The White House said around noon Friday that the post had been removed. Leavitt addressed the video on “The Ingraham Angle” and said a staffer shared the post, which included a caricature of former Vice President Kamala Harris as a turtle. The president ordered it removed out of respect for lawmakers after speaking with them.
Trump posted a video on Truth Social about election fraud, with the Obamas shown as monkeys at the end of the clip.#Trump #Obama #USA #OpaliteMusicVideo pic.twitter.com/X80bk0sqIq
— Faiz Afridi (@FaizAfridi398) February 6, 2026
“It was a meme that was posted by a staffer on the president’s Truth Social account. It was from a Lion King video depicting, as you pointed out, different Democrats as different animals,” Leavitt told host Laura Ingraham. “I think Kamala Harris was depicted as a turtle in this video meme. The president did take it down. He spoke with lawmakers today out of respect for them, including Senator Tim Scott.”
Leavitt said the focus on the video distracted from developments that affected all Americans.
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“The post was removed. But leave it to the leftist media, of course, to talk about this all day rather than talk about the fact that the Dow has broken over 50,000 points for the first time in our nation’s history,” Leavitt said. “Rather than talk about what President Trump did last night, launching TrumpRX.gov, which is the first of its kind, amazing, beautiful website for direct-to-consumer drug purchases.”
Leavitt urged Americans to visit TrumpRX.gov, saying the new platform allows consumers to purchase prescription drugs at dramatically reduced prices.
“For the American people to go to TrumpRX.gov right now and to purchase prescription drugs that are at a much lower cost, sometimes more than 600% less, because of the successful deals that this president negotiated with pharmaceutical companies. It’s great news,” Leavitt said.
Trump announced the launch of Trump RX on Thursday, saying the program will drive down prescription drug prices after manufacturers agreed to steep cuts under pressure from his administration. These include what Trump announced as a drop in the price of Ozempic from more than $1,000 to $199. He said the agreements cover widely used GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, insulin, asthma inhalers, and fertility medications.
In November, Trump secured five separate agreements with major pharmaceutical companies aimed at closing or eliminating the price gap between American consumers and those overseas. The deals covered widely used medications relied on by millions of people.
‘Fake outrage’: Trump reposts video on election fraud, includes image of Obamas as monkeys
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