US President Donald Trump has said he 'didn't see' the part of a social media video which showed a racist clip depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The clip - set to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight - was at the end of a 62-second video he shared containing claims about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The video was later removed. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said 'I didn't make a mistake' when asked whether he was going to apologise. He added he had only seen the beginning of the video before it was posted by a staff member and didn't know it contained that depiction of the Obamas. Republican Senator Tim Scott - who is black - described it as 'the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House'.
The White House initially defended the clip as an 'internet meme video' and told critics to 'stop the fake outrage'. But after fierce backlash, including from several Republican senators, the post was removed from Trump's Truth Social account and a White House official said that a staffer had 'erroneously' made the post. The clip, which recalls racist caricatures comparing black people to monkeys, appears to be taken from an X post shared by conservative meme creator Xerias in October. That video also depicts several other high-profile Democrats as animals, including New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and any other public figures. Trump’s predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden, is also depicted as an ape eating a banana. The Obamas have yet to comment on the video. The video was one of dozens posted to Trump's Truth Social account overnight. Trump expressed that he liked the video’s message on voter fraud but admitted his staff should have reviewed it more carefully. 'We took it down as soon as we found out about it,' he added. The clip follows a pattern of previous racist insinuations made by Trump regarding Obama. Following the incident, multiple political figures from both parties expressed their dismay over the racially charged content.
The White House initially defended the clip as an 'internet meme video' and told critics to 'stop the fake outrage'. But after fierce backlash, including from several Republican senators, the post was removed from Trump's Truth Social account and a White House official said that a staffer had 'erroneously' made the post. The clip, which recalls racist caricatures comparing black people to monkeys, appears to be taken from an X post shared by conservative meme creator Xerias in October. That video also depicts several other high-profile Democrats as animals, including New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and any other public figures. Trump’s predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden, is also depicted as an ape eating a banana. The Obamas have yet to comment on the video. The video was one of dozens posted to Trump's Truth Social account overnight. Trump expressed that he liked the video’s message on voter fraud but admitted his staff should have reviewed it more carefully. 'We took it down as soon as we found out about it,' he added. The clip follows a pattern of previous racist insinuations made by Trump regarding Obama. Following the incident, multiple political figures from both parties expressed their dismay over the racially charged content.
