WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump took to social media Sunday to share a doctored photograph depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama smiling and waving as they prepared to board a version of Air Force One that had been digitally altered to appear covered in spray-painted graffiti.
The manipulated image is the latest in a series of inflammatory posts targeting the Obamas. Just months ago, Trump shared another post — widely condemned as racist — that depicted the couple as primates in a jungle setting. That image was taken down after drawing sharp criticism from both parties.
In the newest image, the Obamas are shown at the top of a staircase beside a baby blue and white presidential aircraft that has been defaced with graffiti. The painted messages include Obama’s campaign slogan “Yes We Can,” the word “Obama,” and “BLM,” a reference to Black Lives Matter. Arabic text reading “alhamdulillah” — meaning “praise be to God” or “thank God” — also appears on the plane in the image.
Experts and critics have noted that the use of graffiti imagery carries a coded message, historically linked to associations with crime and urban blight and used in racist messaging targeting Black communities.
Trump has a long history of making pointed and personal attacks against the Obamas, as well as using inflammatory and at times racially charged language. This has included promoting the debunked claim that Obama was not born in the United States, making broad generalizations about majority-Black nations, and sharing posts on his Truth Social platform that have repeatedly sparked public outrage.
The earlier primate post appeared in February, during the opening week of Black History Month, and was removed after civil rights leaders and Republican senators condemned it. Trump declined to apologize, and a staffer was later blamed for the post.
The timing of Sunday’s Air Force One image is also notable. Trump made his first flight last week aboard a newly retrofitted Boeing 747-800 — a $400 million aircraft gifted by Qatar — which replaced the traditional light blue presidential plane with a color scheme featuring a navy-blue body with red and gold stripes.
On Saturday night, Trump delivered a speech on the National Mall in Washington to commemorate Independence Day and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He had no public events scheduled for Sunday and spent the day at his golf club in Virginia. He is expected to depart Monday for Turkey to participate in a NATO summit.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Obamas also did not respond.
Sunday’s post was not the first time Trump has shared a manipulated image involving Obama. Last month, he posted a doctored photo of Obama’s upcoming presidential library in Chicago, altered to show a large bag of garbage on top of the building surrounded by a wasteland. Trump wrote at the time: “The Obama Library ten years from now will be a ‘Mecca’ for those who hate America! President DJT.” He posted that image twice on his social media platform and has repeatedly criticized the library in public remarks.
The Air Force One image was among several posts Trump made Sunday on Truth Social. Another included a photo appearing to show Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looking up at Trump with a grin, accompanied by the words “RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED.”
That post could add fresh tension to this week’s NATO meetings in Turkey. Trump had previously claimed that Meloni repeatedly asked for a photo with him at the recent Group of Seven summit, implying she had begged for the opportunity. Meloni pushed back, calling Trump’s account “completely fabricated” and stating, “Italy and I never beg.” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani separately canceled a planned trip to Washington following Trump’s remarks.
