Overview
- Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that posts on Truth Social come straight from President Trump and should be treated as administration policy.
- Her statement followed a prior White House explanation that an unnamed staffer had erroneously posted the Obama-as-ape clip to the president’s account.
- Media figures and Democratic leaders seized on the contradiction, with critics arguing the White House cannot claim direct authorship for policy posts yet deflect responsibility for offensive content.
- Calls from some Republican supporters to fire the unnamed staffer have not resulted in any public disciplinary action or identification of the person involved.
- Reporting describes tight control over the account, with access limited to the president and a small group of aides that includes Daniel Scavino and, in day-to-day posting, assistant Natalie Harp.