The depiction appeared towards the end of the video, asserting debunked claims that the 2020 election - which he lost to Joe Biden - was stolen from him.

Posted on Mr Trump's own social media network, the two-second clip shows the Obamas as apes bobbing up and down to the tune of The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

The post was later deleted - around 12 hours after being shared.

A White House official said a member of staff "erroneously made the post" and it had now been taken down.

Later, while onboard Air Force One, the US president said that "of course" he condemned the racist parts of the video, but told journalists he would not apologise, and did not say whether he would fire the staffer who posted it.

"No, I didn't make a mistake," he said, adding that he didn't see the full video. "I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine."

He then said: "I looked in the first part and it was really about voter fraud in, and the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is.

"Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they'd look at the whole thing. But I guess somebody didn't, and they posted. We took it down as soon as we found out about it."

'Every single Republican must denounce this'

The post sparked widespread outrage from across the political spectrum, while the White House's response was also criticised.

Kamala Harris, Mr Trump's Democratic rival in the 2024 presidential election, said: "No one believes this cover-up from the White House, especially since they originally defended the post.

"We are all clear-eyed about who Donald Trump is and what he believes."

In a message on X, formerly Twitter, Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, accused the president of "disgusting behaviour" over the post.

He added: "Every single Republican must denounce this. Now."

Responding to the video, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X: "Racist. Vile. Abhorrent. This is dangerous and degrades our country-where are Senate Republicans?"

Mr Schumer urged the US president to apologise to the Obamas, calling the couple "two great Americans who make Donald Trump look like a small, envious man".

Ben Rhodes, who served as deputy national security adviser in the Obama White House, reacted to the video by calling Mr Trump "a stain on our history".

"Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history," he wrote on X.

George Conway - ex-husband of Kellyanne Conway, who managed the president's successful election campaign in 2016 - responded by highlighting an article he'd written describing Mr Trump as a "racist" in 2019.

The group Republicans Against Trump wrote: "There's no bottom."

White House initially criticised 'fake outrage'

Before the post was removed, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended it and said the depiction formed part of a longer video depicting various politicians as animals.

She said: "This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.

"Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public."

Mr Trump has a long history of attacking Mr Obama, his predecessor as president, and was a vocal proponent of the "birther" conspiracy theory.

The theory cast doubt on Mr Obama's birth in Hawaii, asserting that he was actually born in Kenya, and therefore ineligible to hold the office of president.

Mr Obama produced his long-form birth certificate in 2011. In 2016, Mr Trump publicly accepted that his predecessor was born in the US.

Pleas from International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Kirsty Coventry to be respectful were ignored when four Israelis entered the San Siro in the athlete parade.

You had to listen carefully, but boos could be heard over the music in the vast stadium.

Simultaneous parades were held at Games clusters across northern Italy - while jeering was reported in Predazzo, there were cheers when Israelis marched in the mountain resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Israel has endured more harrowing days at the Olympics, with 11 of their athletes murdered by Palestinian terrorists in a massacre at Munich in 1972.

For these Olympics, the IOC faced pressure to ban Israel from competing over the thousands killed in the post-7 October war in Gaza, but rejected those calls.

The jeering demonstrated the animosity of some in the crowd towards the Jewish state, with hostility over conflict and geopolitical tensions hard to escape in the ceremony.

Read more: Best pictures from Winter Olympics opening day

Fractures between Europe and the United States were also evident.

While American athletes entered to cheers, the brief appearance of vice president JD Vance, waving Stars and Stripes flags with wife, Usha, did prompt more booing and whistling.

Anger against the Trump administration has been evident in the buildup to the Games, with protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents being here to protect the US delegation, weeks after their personnel killed two American citizens.

But if you were watching on television, you probably didn't hear the booing - drowned out by music or commentators.

Italians will have revelled in hearing Mariah Carey paying homage to the hosts by singing iconic 1950s hit Volare in Italian.

Maybe you did hear the cheers for Ukraine, a show of solidarity four years into the full-scale invasion by Russia, whose team remains banned.

There were enthusiastic roars, too, for Venezuela following Trump's military interventions.

The IOC wanted to show a world uniting through sport, hoping these Games are a platform for compassion to shine rather than conflict.

"You'll show us that strength isn't just about winning," Ms Coventry told athletes in her address. "It's about courage, empathy and heart."

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It is about a vast Olympics. For the next two weeks, five sporting clusters across northern Italy will be in the sporting spotlight.

An Olympic Games has never been as sprawling across such a large footprint. It is an even wider platform-to-platform.

But Ms Coventry told her first opening ceremony leading the Olympics that "when we see rivals embrace at the finish line, we are reminded that we can choose respect".

The Environment Agency (EA) has issued 82 warnings for England, meaning flooding is expected, mainly concentrated in the South West and Midlands.

A further 253 flood alerts are in force, meaning flooding is possible, stretching from North Yorkshire to Cornwall, and from the Welsh borders to Norfolk.

Natural Resources Wales has another 11 flood alerts in place across the border.

Check the weather forecast in your area

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service also warned that levels in the River Dene had "risen to a state where flooding is imminent".

The EA usually issues flood warnings 30 minutes to two hours before flooding, according to its website.

It issues them when flooding is expected from rivers, from heavy rains that could cause flash floods, and from high tides and surges coupled with strong winds at sea.

More wet weather is predicted for large areas of the country on Saturday, including blustery showers in the South West and heavy showers in South Wales.

Sunday offers a more mixed picture, with showers and some sunshine, before wet and windy conditions resume at the start of next week.

Rain has fallen every day of 2026 in the South West and South Wales, the Met Office announced this week.

Both regions have faced 50% more rainfall than usual for January, the forecaster said.

Meanwhile, the South East received nearly a third of its average February rainfall in just the first three days of the month.

"Unfortunately, there's no end in sight," said Dan Stroud, operational meteorologist with the Met Office.

His colleague Alex Deakin said the trend continued on Friday.

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He said: "Friday's been a very soggy day across a good chunk of the country, cold wind continuing to feed in the cloud and the moisture across north-east England and eastern Scotland."

Speaking earlier this week, Mr Stroud blamed a "big area of high pressure" for the sustained bleakness.

He said: "Very little in the way of change, and the reason for it really is that we've got a big area of high pressure way out to the far north and east of the country, and that's stopping areas of low pressure from moving through.

"Until that area of high pressure sort of shifts out of the way, we're not really going to see much of a change in the forecast.

"At the same time, we've got the jet stream way to the south, bringing exceptional wet weather to Spain and Portugal."

Boxes were seen being carried from his property in Camden, north London, on Friday evening, while police cars were parked in the driveway of Mandelson's Wiltshire house.

Plain-clothed officers also used torches to briefly search a Range Rover outside the London address.

Latest updates on Mandelson investigation

Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Hayley Sewart said the "central specialist crime team" were carrying out the warrants.

"The searches are related to an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offences, involving a 72-year-old man," said a statement.

"He has not been arrested and enquiries are ongoing."

The search is part of an investigation into Lord Mandelson following the latest release of files about paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, which have revealed more details about the pair's relationship.

They appear to show Mandelson passed on market-sensitive information to Epstein when he was business secretary after the 2008 financial crisis.

Lord Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. He has said he regrets maintaining a relationship with him and apologised to the sex offender's victims.

'Significant volume of material' to be reviewed

Sir Keir Starmer remains under pressure to release documents related to the peer's vetting to become UK ambassador to the US - a job he was sacked from in September.

The prime minister has said Mandelson lied about the depth of his friendship with Epstein ahead of getting the prestigious Washington job.

In a letter to the chair of parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), Sir Keir said he wanted the documents released as soon as possible.

However, he said "a very significant volume of material" on Mandelson's appointment as ambassador needed to be reviewed first.

In Friday's letter, Sir Keir said he had told the cabinet secretary to work with the ISC on "how material that may be prejudicial to the UK's national security and international relations is shared and reviewed".

Documents coming 'shortly'

Speaking to journalists earlier, Downing Street said the government would publish the documents "shortly".

Sky News understands the government is working with police to ensure any document released does not undermine the police investigation into Mandelson.

Officials are believed to be in the early stages of assessing the documents, of which there are thousands.

The scandal surrounding Lord Mandelson has left Sir Keir under severe pressure, with some in Labour wanting him to resign.

Labour MPs are urging Sir Keir to reveal whether he saw a report by an influential party peer that warned of Lord Mandelson's links to Epstein.

Labour grandee Lord Glasman told Sky News last September that he had flagged to Number 10 about the pair's relationship but was met with a "discreet suggestion to basically shut up".

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In an interview with Sky News' Sophy Ridge, Lord Glasman suggested he was asked to report to Number 10 about the pair's relationship and he did - but suggested no action was taken.

"They asked me to send a report and I sent a report," he said.

"I did say when I got back, I would think again about this publicly.

"Then I did get a discreet suggestion to basically shut up about that, and I did."

McSweeney under pressure

Even more focus has been placed on the prime minister's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who was a close political ally of Lord Mandelson.

Labour backbencher MP Simon Opher called for a "clear out at Number 10".

"If my chief of staff had done this, I think he would be looking for another job," Mr Opher told the BBC.

Veteran Labour MP Clive Efford and Southport MP Patrick Hurley have also said Mr McSweeney should leave Number 10.

PM's future

Former cabinet minister and Labour grandee Harriet Harman told the Electoral Dysfunction podcast previously that the prime minister needed a "real reset".

Sir Keir could lose his premiership if he does not do the right thing, Ms Harman added.

However, so far no big names on the current frontline of Labour politics have turned their fire on the prime minister and his staff.

Sir Keir on Thursday apologised for believing Lord Mandelson's "lies" about his closeness to Epstein.

The prime minister made Lord Mandelson the UK's ambassador to the US in 2024.

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Following a partial release of the Epstein files last year, Sir Keir sacked him after it emerged how close the pair were.

Another tranche of millions of documents released by the US government recently saw Mandelson quit Labour and resign from the House of Lords.

Sky News has learnt that NatWest, which returned to full private ownership last year, is this weekend in advanced talks to acquire Evelyn from its private equity backers.

NatWest is understood to have seen off competition from rival bidder Barclays in recent days, following a new round of offers submitted last week.

City sources said that NatWest was expected to pay between £2.5bn and £3bn to buy Evelyn, which offers a broad range of wealth management services to thousands of customers.

An announcement confirming the deal could come in the early part of next week.

Buying Evelyn, which was previously known as Tilney Smith & Williamson, will strengthen NatWest's presence in one of the areas identified by Paul Thwaite, its chief executive, as a priority for the bank.

NatWest, which is expected to report strong full-year results at the end of next week, has embarked on a simplification drive since Mr Thwaite took over in 2023.

Analysts said that buying Evelyn would represent a logical strategic move for NatWest's Coutts arm as well as its affluent customer segment.

Although it is a sizeable deal, a price of under £3bn is modest in the context of NatWest's market capitalisation of almost £52bn.

Its shares have risen by close to 50% during the last year.

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Barclays was also keen to buy Evelyn, although it is said to have backed away from a deal after acknowledging the price that rival NatWest was prepared to pay for the business.

Royal Bank of Canada had been linked to a bid, although it was unclear whether it formally tabled an offer this week.

Evelyn had close to £65bn in assets under management as of last August, when it reported half-year results, making it a significant player in the sector in the UK.

The auction of Evelyn comes amid a torrent of corporate activity in the wealth management sector.

Demographics and the drive to push Britons into longer-term saving, investment and financial planning have driven growth across large parts of the industry in recent years - a trend which is expected to continue.

Canaccord Genuity's wealth arm is also on the block and could fetch a price of over £1bn.

Acquiring Evelyn will also trigger a return to NatWest for Evelyn's chief executive, Paul Geddes, if he remains involved with the business.

Mr Geddes joined the then Royal Bank of Scotland before the financial crisis, running its insurance arm, which included brands such as Direct Line and Churchill.

He oversaw its spinoff from the high street lender, which at the time was under majority government ownership.

Evelyn is owned by the private equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus, having merged their respective firms Tilney and Smith & Williamson in 2020.

Last year, Evelyn's professional services arm was sold to the buyout firm Apax Partners.

The auction of the wealth management business is being handled by bankers at Evercore.

NatWest and Barclays both declined to comment, while Permira has been contacted for comment.