Trump post on Obama ignites new race row

Another Truth Social upload months ago involving Obamas that was widely condemned as racist

Washinton: US President Donald Trump has shared a digitally altered image on Truth Social showing former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama boarding an Air Force One aircraft covered in graffiti, drawing criticism online.

The image shows the Obamas waving from the aircraft stairs while the plane is defaced with slogans including “Yes We Can”, “Obama”, “BLM” and the Arabic phrase “alhamdulillah”, meaning “praise be to God”.

The post comes months after another controversial Truth Social post that was deleted following bipartisan backlash. 

According to CNN, the February post depicted the Obamas as apes in a jungle, invoking a racist trope. The White House later blamed a staffer, saying the post had been uploaded in error and removed. Republican Senator Tim Scott condemned the post as racist and urged its removal. The White House also said Trump was unaware of the video and disappointed by the staffer’s actions.

—ANI

Trump revives feud with Meloni 

US President Donald Trump has reignited his feud with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni by sharing a meme on Truth Social suggesting she was obsessed with him. The edited image showed Meloni smiling at Trump, with the caption, “Restraining order needed”. The post came ahead of the Nato summit, where the two leaders are expected to meet. The spat follows Trump’s recent claim that Meloni repeatedly sought a photograph with him during the G7 summit, a claim she dismissed as “completely fabricated”. 

POTUS predicts stock market surge 

US President Trump on Monday rang the opening bells of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq from the White House, promoting the launch of “Trump Accounts”, investment acco­unts for children under 18. The accounts, created under last year’s Republican spending bill, are expected to give over six million children and their families access to stock market investments. Highlighting recent market gains as proof of his administration’s economic policies, Trump said he was disappointed the accounts took so long to launch but predicted the stock market would “go through the roof” in the coming months.

—AP