Donald Trump last night refused to apologize for a racist video that was posted and then deleted from his social media profile, in which Barack and Michelle Obama were portrayed as monkeys. Trump admitted that he instructed aides to post the controversial video, but claims he did not see the offensive part of the footage. His statement contradicts the White House’s initial explanation that the video had been posted by a staff member without the president’s knowledge.
The controversial clip appeared in one of the increasingly frequent late-night posts by the 79-year-old U.S. president on his platform Truth Social. It shows smiling faces of the former president and first lady edited onto the bodies of primates swinging in a jungle to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
They appear at the end of a one-minute video promoting Trump’s persistent but false claim that he won the 2020 election. The video is a repost of content bearing the logo of the site Patriot News Outlet, which supports Trump. Although the White House initially defended the post, the video was later deleted and journalists were told it had been posted by an aide without the president’s knowledge.
Natalie Harp, Trump’s aide and former host on the conspiracy-leaning television network One America News, reportedly has access to the president’s Truth Social account, according to Index.hr, citing The Guardian.
As he often does, Trump undermined his aides’ efforts by telling reporters that he had approved the posting of the video. “I only watched the first part,” he said. “I didn’t see the whole thing; I assume there was some kind of scene at the end that people didn’t like. I wouldn’t like it either. But I didn’t see it, I only watched the first part… then I gave it to people. They usually watch the whole thing, but I guess someone didn’t and they posted it — and we removed it.”
When asked whether he would apologize — something even some Republican officials had suggested — Trump refused. “No, I didn’t do anything wrong,” the president said about the racist meme.
By Friday morning the post had garnered about 5,600 likes, but also sparked outrage across the political spectrum over its overtly racist message about the first Black U.S. president and his wife. Still, only a small number of Republicans spoke out, and no one from the party’s leadership in Congress.
Tim Scott, a senator from South Carolina and the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, wrote on X: “I’m praying that this is fake because this is the most racist thing I’ve seen come out of this White House. The president should take it down.”
Mike Lawler, a Republican congressman from New York, said: “The president’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or not — and should be immediately removed with an apology.”
Democrats were far harsher. “Why do Republican Party leaders like John Thune continue to stand by this sick individual? Every Republican must immediately condemn Donald Trump’s vile bigotry,” said Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, calling the Obamas “brilliant, compassionate, and patriotic Americans,” and Trump a “disgusting, unhinged, and malicious parasite.”
Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, wrote on X: “Racist. Disgusting. Grotesque. This is dangerous and degrades our country — where are Senate Republicans? The president must immediately remove the post and apologize to Barack and Michelle Obama.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom was among the first to react. “Disgusting behavior from the president. Every Republican must condemn this. Immediately,” his post said.
In a statement sent to The Guardian early Friday, several hours before the post was removed, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt attempted to downplay the scandal. She claimed the clip came from a video in which Trump is portrayed as the “King of the Jungle,” and Democrats as characters from The Lion King cartoon.
“Please stop the fake outrage and report today on something that actually matters to the American public,” Leavitt said.
Foto: Wikimedia/Gage Skidmore – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic – CC-BY-SA-2.0
