Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has accused the White House of attempting a “cover-up” after the administration said a staff member was responsible for sharing and then deleting a social media video containing racist depictions of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The video, originally posted on President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account late on Thursday, included a brief clip that superimposed the Obamas’ faces onto the bodies of primates, prompting swift condemnation from lawmakers across the political spectrum.

The White House initially dismissed criticism of the post as “fake outrage” before removing it and attributing the error to a staffer who accidentally uploaded the clip.

Harris rejected that explanation in a post on X, writing that “no one believes this cover-up from the White House, especially since they originally defended the post,” and asserting that the episode reflects Trump’s longstanding attitudes.

The controversial minute-long video, which also included election-related conspiracy imagery, was deleted about 12 hours after it first appeared, and the White House said it acted as soon as officials became aware of the objectionable portion.

President Trump later told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had seen only the beginning of the video and had not watched the segment containing the offensive imagery.

While some Republican leaders, including Senator Tim Scott, also condemned the depiction and urged its removal or apology from Trump, Harris and other Democratic figures have called for a fuller accounting of how the post came to be shared and what it reveals about the administration’s approach to race and political dissent.