President Trump on Sunday posted a falsified image of former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama waving as they boarded an Air Force One spray-painted with graffiti, the latest in a string of posts targeting the couple.
The image showed the Obamas smiling atop the stairs of a presidential plane marked with graffiti reading “Yes We Can,” “Obama” and “BLM,” along with Arabic text meaning “praise be to God.” Graffiti imagery has historically been used to evoke crime and urban decay in racist messaging against Black Americans.
The post follows a February image Mr. Trump shared depicting the Obamas as primates, which he deleted after bipartisan backlash. He did not apologize; a staffer was later blamed for the post. Last month, Mr. Trump also posted a doctored image of the Obama Presidential Library topped with a garbage bag, writing it would become a “Mecca” for “those who hate America.”
The graffiti image comes a week after Mr. Trump’s first flight aboard a new, $400 million Air Force One gifted by Qatar and repainted in his preferred navy, red and gold color scheme.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did a spokeswoman for the Obamas.
Mr. Trump departs Monday for a NATO summit in Turkey.
Read more:
• Trump posts doctored photo of Obamas and Air Force One with graffiti spray-painted on plane
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