California Senate adopts resolution condemning dehumanizing post by President Trump
February 09, 2026 | California State Senate, Senate, Legislative, California
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The California State Senate on Feb. 12 adopted Senate Resolution 77, a formal statement condemning a social media post shared by President Donald Trump that lawmakers said dehumanized former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. The resolution passed the Senate by voice and roll call, with the clerk announcing 28 ayes and no votes against.
Senator Weber Pearson, the author and chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, opened debate by calling the imagery “a calculated act of racial subjugation” and urged colleagues to demand a public apology from the White House. “This imagery has no place in our country, no place in our democracy,” she said during her remarks on the Senate floor.
Lawmakers from multiple caucuses spoke in support of the measure, including members of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, the Latino Caucus, the Jewish Caucus and the LGBTQ caucus. Speakers described the post as part of a pattern of conduct they said targets communities of color and inflames real‑world threats and violence. Several senators framed the resolution as consistent with California values and Black History Month observances.
Opposition to the resolution was limited on the floor; some senators urged more bipartisan collaboration on language and process but did not vote against the measure. Senator Cialto, while condemning the underlying conduct, said the resolution’s wording had been circulated the same morning and suggested broader collaboration could have produced stronger, more united language.
The Senate adopted SR 77 without recorded opposition. The resolution calls on elected officials to condemn the conduct, demands a public apology to the Obamas and to Black Americans who were harmed by the imagery, and affirms the Legislature’s commitment to advancing policy to confront systemic racism.
The resolution’s adoption was a symbolic legislative action; it does not impose sanctions or direct state administrative action. The next procedural step after adoption is standard entry into the Senate journal and memorialization of the resolution in legislative records.
Senator Weber Pearson, the author and chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, opened debate by calling the imagery “a calculated act of racial subjugation” and urged colleagues to demand a public apology from the White House. “This imagery has no place in our country, no place in our democracy,” she said during her remarks on the Senate floor.
Lawmakers from multiple caucuses spoke in support of the measure, including members of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, the Latino Caucus, the Jewish Caucus and the LGBTQ caucus. Speakers described the post as part of a pattern of conduct they said targets communities of color and inflames real‑world threats and violence. Several senators framed the resolution as consistent with California values and Black History Month observances.
Opposition to the resolution was limited on the floor; some senators urged more bipartisan collaboration on language and process but did not vote against the measure. Senator Cialto, while condemning the underlying conduct, said the resolution’s wording had been circulated the same morning and suggested broader collaboration could have produced stronger, more united language.
The Senate adopted SR 77 without recorded opposition. The resolution calls on elected officials to condemn the conduct, demands a public apology to the Obamas and to Black Americans who were harmed by the imagery, and affirms the Legislature’s commitment to advancing policy to confront systemic racism.
The resolution’s adoption was a symbolic legislative action; it does not impose sanctions or direct state administrative action. The next procedural step after adoption is standard entry into the Senate journal and memorialization of the resolution in legislative records.
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