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President Donald Trump is not apologizing for a social media video that depicted former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as primates in the jungle. The video, which has since been taken down, was widely denounced as racist and prompted bipartisan backlash. Trump told reporters on Friday that he hadn’t seen the offensive part of the video before it was posted to his social media account, which he said was done by a staffer. When asked on Friday if he condemned the racist parts of the video, Trump responded, “Of course, I do, yeah.”But asked if he’ll respond to calls from GOP lawmakers to apologize, Trump said, “No, I didn’t make a mistake. I mean, you give, I look at a lot of, thousands of things, and I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine.” The video shared on the president’s Truth Social account was largely about election conspiracy theories. In the final seconds, the video flips to a depiction of the Obamas as apes. “I didn’t see the whole thing. I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of a picture that people don’t like. I wouldn’t like it either, but I didn’t see it. I just looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud and the machines.” Trump said. Trump also said he spoke to Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who is Black, about the situation. Earlier Friday, Scott publicly responded to the video in a strongly worded social media post. “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” Scott wrote. Associations with apes have historically been used to dehumanize Black people and justify racist policies from slavery to segregation. “The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the clip.”This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” Leavitt said. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”The White House later removed the post, stating it was posted erroneously by a staffer.An Obama spokesperson said the former president had no comment.
President Donald Trump is not apologizing for a social media video that depicted former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as primates in the jungle.
The video, which has since been taken down, was widely denounced as racist and prompted bipartisan backlash.
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Trump told reporters on Friday that he hadn’t seen the offensive part of the video before it was posted to his social media account, which he said was done by a staffer.
When asked on Friday if he condemned the racist parts of the video, Trump responded, “Of course, I do, yeah.”
But asked if he’ll respond to calls from GOP lawmakers to apologize, Trump said, “No, I didn’t make a mistake. I mean, you give, I look at a lot of, thousands of things, and I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine.”
The video shared on the president’s Truth Social account was largely about election conspiracy theories. In the final seconds, the video flips to a depiction of the Obamas as apes.
“I didn’t see the whole thing. I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of a picture that people don’t like. I wouldn’t like it either, but I didn’t see it. I just looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud and the machines.” Trump said.
Trump also said he spoke to Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who is Black, about the situation. Earlier Friday, Scott publicly responded to the video in a strongly worded social media post.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” Scott wrote.
Associations with apes have historically been used to dehumanize Black people and justify racist policies from slavery to segregation.
“The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the clip.
“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” Leavitt said. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
The White House later removed the post, stating it was posted erroneously by a staffer.
An Obama spokesperson said the former president had no comment.
