A racist trope shared by a sitting President reopens old wounds. For Kenya, the homeland of Obama’s father, the insult cuts deeper than mere politics.

It stayed up for twelve hours. A minute of conspiracy theories ending in a caricature so vile it united Republicans and Democrats in disgust. President Donald Trump has deleted a video from his Truth Social account that depicted former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes, blaming a "staffer" and claiming he "didn't see" the offensive ending.

Donald Trump’s "I didn't see it" defense does little to quell the outrage. For the Ruto administration in Nairobi, navigating a relationship with a U.S. leader who amplifies such content is becoming a diplomatic tightrope. Kenya, recently designated a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA), finds itself allied with an administration that seems intent on alienating the very continent it seeks to court.

The "King of the Jungle" Defense

The White House initially defended the post as a harmless "Lion King" meme before the backlash forced a retraction. Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, called it "the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House." Obama himself responded indirectly, lamenting the loss of "shame and decorum" in public life.

• The Post: A video ending with the Obamas depicted as primates.
• The Defense: Blamed on a staffer; Trump claimed ignorance.
• The Fallout: Bipartisan condemnation in Washington.

The Nairobi Perspective

For Kenyans, Barack Obama remains a "son of the soil." An attack on him is often perceived as an attack on the country's heritageThis incident complicates the delicate dance of US-Kenya relations. With the Trump administration already probing Kenyan officials over human rights abuses and threatening to review trade deals, this cultural insult adds a layer of toxicity to an already strained partnership.

"We are no longer heirs to the generations that pushed back the tide of racism," Obama told a podcaster. It is a mourning of a lost era, and a warning of the ugly one that has replaced it.