US President Donald Trump has refused to say sorry after sharing a racist video on social media that showed former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama with their faces edited onto apes.
The short video was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account late Thursday night. It started with claims about the 2020 election, then switched to the offensive animation of the Obamas as apes in a jungle scene.
Many people quickly called the clip racist. It uses an old and hurtful stereotype that has been used for years to insult Black people.
Several Republicans, including Senator Tim Scott (the only Black Republican in the Senate), and Senior U.S. Senator Senator Roger Wicker for Mississippi, among others strongly criticized the post.
Civil rights groups and leaders also condemned it, saying it had no place in politics especially during Black History Month.
The White House first said the video was just an “internet meme” and dismissed the anger as “fake outrage.”
But by Friday morning, the post was deleted after being online for about 12 hours. When asked about it on Friday, President Trump told reporters he had not watched the full video before it was shared.
He said he only saw the first part about the election.
He was then asked if he wanted to apologize. Trump answered clearly: “No, I didn’t make a mistake.”
