GOP Rep. Lawler says image posted by Trump mocking Obamas was 'racist'
Lawler called the image in Trump’s post racist and wrong, then addressed the funding dispute and immigration in interview excerpts.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYABC News is an established national news organization, and this article names its reporter and presents an interview with attributed statements. The article’s credibility benefits from transparent sourcing, though portions of the interview report claims without independent verification in the text.
- Source type — Established national news organization with professional reporting standards.
- Editorial standards — The article attributes interview statements and distinguishes the speakers’ claims.
- Author attribution — A named reporter is credited.
The article gives direct, attributed remarks from Lawler and Trump and includes the White House’s explanation and Scott’s criticism. Its interview format provides limited independent verification or additional perspectives on some claims, including the immigration figures and the funding dispute.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article includes Lawler’s and Scott’s criticism as well as Trump’s response and the White House’s explanation. The piece is built around an interview with Lawler, so the range of perspectives is present but not extensive.
- Source diversity — The account draws on statements from Lawler, Trump, Scott, and the White House, but relies heavily on one interview.
- Counterarguments presented — Trump’s refusal to apologize, his explanation, and the White House’s staffer explanation are included.
- Opinion vs reporting — The article presents remarks as attributed statements rather than adopting them as its own opinion.
The article reports the controversy in straightforward language, attributes judgments to the speakers, and includes Trump’s response and the White House’s explanation. The interview excerpts also present Lawler’s views on other issues without an evident partisan editorial stance.
- Language tone — Mostly descriptive language, with charged terms such as “racist” presented as attributed statements or descriptions of the image.
- Source selection — Includes criticism from Lawler and Scott, Trump’s response, and the White House’s explanation.
- Framing — The article centers Lawler’s interview remarks and does not add an explicit editorial verdict.
Republished by ABC7 New York
Rep. Mike Lawler reiterated that a racist image in President Donald Trump’s post mocking Barack and Michelle Obama was wrong. Lawler also discussed a funding dispute involving Trump and Sen. Chuck Schumer and proposed immigration changes.
Rep. Mike Lawler said the image in Trump’s post depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes was racist and wrong, whether it was intentional or a mistake. Lawler said he was taking the White House’s explanation that a staffer made the mistake; Trump said he had not made a mistake, condemned the racist portion, and the post was deleted about 12 hours after it appeared. Sen. Tim Scott had also criticized the post, while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially called criticism of it “fake outrage.”
In interview excerpts, Lawler discussed reports that Trump had offered to unfreeze funding for a New York and New Jersey infrastructure project if Schumer endorsed renaming Penn Station and Dulles Airport after Trump. Lawler said he opposed freezing the funding and wanted the project completed. On immigration, Lawler argued for a legal path for some undocumented people to work and pay taxes, while saying it should not be a path to citizenship.
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People in this story
SWIPE →Representative who criticized Trump’s post and discussed other policy issues in an interview
President whose post included the image and who declined to apologize
Trump's version of this story ↗Senator discussed in connection with Trump’s reported funding and renaming proposal
White House press secretary who initially dismissed criticism of the video
Senator who criticized Trump’s post
Part of a bigger story
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