US president maintains he ‘didn’t make a mistake,’ blames decision to post video on staffer
WASHINGTON (AA) – US President Donald Trump condemned, but refused to apologise on Friday for a since-deleted racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The brief clip was included at the tail end of a video posted to his Truth Social account that reiterated the president’s unproven voter fraud claims. In it, the widely smiling faces of the former president and first lady are placed atop the bodies of apes, perpetuating several tropes made against Black people as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, a song made famous by Disney’s The Lion King film, plays in the background.
The post mocking America’s first Black president was made during Black History Month, a time dedicated to honouring the milestones, contributions and history of Black Americans.
“Of course I do,” Trump said when he was asked by a reporter on Air Force One if he condemns the racist parts of the video.
But asked if he would apologise, Trump remained defiant, blaming the post on a staffer who he said posted the video on his behalf without seeing the part that included the racist depictions of the Obamas, maintaining that he “didn’t make a mistake”.
“I looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud in the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is. Then I gave it to the people to – generally, they look at the whole thing. But I guess somebody didn’t, and they posted, and we took it down,” he said.
“Certainly, it was a very strong post in terms of voter fraud. Nobody knew that that was at the end. If they would have looked, they would have seen it, and probably they would have had the sense to take it down,” he added.
The video was met with swift rebukes from across the political spectrum.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it,” Senator Tim Scott, the chamber’s sole Black Republican, wrote on US social media platform X.
Trump claimed he spoke to Scott and explained what happened, and “he understood that 100%”.
Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, the state with the largest share of Black voters, called the post “totally unacceptable” and urged Trump to “take it down and apologise”. Trump has refused to apologise.
“Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the highest-ranking Black member in the history of the House of Representatives, in his response to the video.
“Why are GOP leaders like John Thune continuing to stand by this sick individual? Every single Republican must immediately denounce Donald Trump’s disgusting bigotry,” he added.