President Donald Trump said he would not apologize and that he did nothing wrong after a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes appeared on his Truth Social media account late Thursday.
The minute-long clip includes Trump’s repeated, unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. It ends with the heads of the Obamas superimposed on the bodies of apes. The post was deleted about 12 hours later, but only after facing backlash from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
The White House initially defended the video, calling it an "internet meme."
"I looked at it. I saw it and I just looked at the first part. It was about voter fraud in some place. Georgia," Trump said. "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."
"Then I gave it to the people," he added. "Generally, they look at the whole thing, but I guess somebody didn't and they posted it -- and we took it down. We took it down as soon as we found out."
When asked if any staff members were fired, Trump would not answer.
When asked if he should apologize, Trump said, "No, I didn't make a mistake. I look at a lot of, thousands of things. I looked at the beginning of it; it was fine. If you look at where it came from, I guess it was a take-off of The Lion King."
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Using apes or monkeys to portray Black people is widely recognized as a racist trope, rooted in centuries-old stereotypes used to dehumanize Black Americans.
After White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the post, it appears the video was deleted by midday Friday. The White House later blamed a "staffer."
A "White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down," the White House said.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate, said early Friday he hoped Trump would delete the post.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The president should remove it,” Scott said prior to its removal.
The NAACP also condemned the post, which remained on Trump's Truth Social account until Friday morning.
"Trump posting this video — especially during Black History Month— is a stark reminder of how Trump and his followers truly view people. And we’ll remember that in November," the organization stated.
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The video Trump shared appeared to be edited from a longer clip that placed the heads of several Democratic figures on African animals while the 1961 song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played. The portion Trump posted featured only the Obamas.
