1. United States
2. Ind.
3. Letter

I am writing to strongly urge you to publicly condemn the racist video President Trump shared on Truth Social on Thursday night depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as primates. This dehumanizing imagery has no place in American political discourse, particularly when it comes from the sitting President of the United States. The 62-second video included a scene at the 60-second mark showing two primates with the Obamas' faces imposed on them. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed legitimate concerns as "fake outrage" and claimed the video was simply a meme depicting Trump as "King of the Jungle" and Democrats as Lion King characters. This defense is unacceptable. Depicting Black Americans as primates is a well-documented racist trope with a long and painful history in this country. This incident is not isolated. Trump has a documented pattern of racist rhetoric, including his false "birther" claims that President Obama was born in Kenya despite being born in Hawaii, his 2024 campaign statement that immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country" echoing Nazi-era language, and his reference to majority-Black developing nations as "shithole countries" during his first term, which he admitted to saying in December 2025. Your constituents and all Americans deserve leadership that unequivocally rejects racism in all its forms. Silence in the face of such blatant dehumanization of America's first Black president and first lady sends a message that this behavior is acceptable and It is absolutely not. I am asking you to issue a public statement condemning this video and the racist imagery it contains. Our political disagreements should never descend into dehumanizing depictions based on race. The dignity of the office you hold and the values of the constituents you represent demand nothing less than clear moral leadership on this issue.