Long-time Donald Trump loyalist, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), is questioning the president after he posted a racist meme online about former President Barack Obama and his wife that depicts them as apes.
"Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it," Scott posted on X.
Overnight, Trump shared a video made with artificial intelligence material, including conspiracy theories about voter fraud as part of the Republican push to pass the SAVE Act, or the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. Democrats have argued that the SAVE Act adds unnecessary hurdles to voting to fix a non-existent problem.
One of those changes would require Americans to present a "Real ID" to vote and proof of citizenship to register. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) compared it to Jim Crow-era laws like poll taxes, which disenfranchised poor, predominantly Black voters. The practice of requiring a poll tax to vote was outlawed by the 24th Amendment.
Republicans have dismissed allegations that the SAVE Act is racist, but Trump then used a meme depicting the first-ever Black president as an ape.
The White House argued that Trump shared it as a reference to "The Lion King," which doesn't feature any ape characters. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's seeming acknowledgment of the post likely doesn't help answer Scott's prayer.

