Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Utah Sen. John Curtis criticized Trump for a racist post about Barack and Michelle Obama.
- The since-deleted post, shared on Truth Social, depicted the Obamas as apes.
- Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, who is Black, defended the president, saying, "We all make mistakes." He later called it "wildly offensive."
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Sen. John Curtis blasted President Donald Trump Friday over a since-deleted post the president shared depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
"The post was blatantly racist and inexcusable," Curtis said on social media. "It should never have been posted or left published for so long."
The post was blatantly racist and inexcusable. It should never have been posted or left published for so long. https://t.co/wlgvqhvTBM
— Senator John Curtis (@SenJohnCurtis) February 6, 2026
The president shared the post on Truth Social late Thursday. It depicted the couple as apes in a jungle and prompted bipartisan backlash, including from Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate.
"Praying it was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House," Scott posted on X Friday morning. "The president should remove it."
Criticism of the president from his fellow Republicans has been rare during Trump's second term. Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, who is also Black, defended the president to the Deseret News, adding: "We all make mistakes."
"I know President Trump's heart. President Trump cares about everyone, particularly those who are having a hard time," Owens said. "We make mistakes. I put out a couple posts I wish I could pull back. We all do that, but he's a good man with a good heart, and it's obvious in the policies he's put together."
Owens later changed his stance in a post on X, though he didn't refer to Trump by name.
"The imagery was wildly offensive and inappropriate, and as a Black man, I find it especially troubling," he wrote. "It never should have been shared or even created, and I'm glad it has been taken down. Reports indicate it may have been posted in error by a staff member, but regardless, we all have a responsibility to use care and good judgment with the content we produce and distribute."
Utah Sen. Mike Lee and the state's other U.S. House representatives — Blake Moore, Celeste Maloy and Mike Kennedy — did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Initially, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the uproar over the post as "fake outrage" in statements to media outlets.
"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."
But the White House eventually reversed course, deleting the post and blaming it on a staffer.
Curtis' office said he was traveling and unavailable for further comment about Trump's post.
Meanwhile, other elected officials in Utah also responded to the controversy.
"For those who want to deny the history of our racism, here is racism for our history," said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, a Democrat.
Utah Senate Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, echoed Curtis' remarks and called the president's post "inappropriate" while speaking with reporters Friday.
"He shouldn't have tweeted that," the senator said. "(You) probably don't want to go see it. Sometimes we fall short. I think he fell short."
This is not the first time Trump has been accused of racist rhetoric or sentiments regarding the Obamas. He falsely claimed President Obama had been born in Kenya before finally acknowledging it wasn't true.
Trump was also criticized for his comments during his first term that some nations in Africa were "s---hole countries."
