Racist chant: Trump refuses to apologise, defends posting video showing Obamas as monkeys

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has defended posting a video showing former President Barack Obama and the former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, insisting he had nothing to apologise for, even after he deleted the video following an outcry.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said he only saw the beginning of the video.

‘I looked at it, I saw it and I just looked at the first part,” he 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.

“But I didn’t see it, I just, I looked at the first part … then I gave it to the people. Generally they look at the whole thing, but I guess somebody didn’t and they posted – and we took it down.”

Asked whether he would apologise, as even Republican officials have suggested he should, Trump bristled. “No, I didn’t make a mistake,” the president who approved the posting of a racist meme on his social media account said.

Trump explained that he did not watch the entire clip before it was posted.

“I didn’t see the whole thing. I looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud in the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is.

“Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they look at the whole thing. But I guess somebody didn’t,” he said.

When asked directly whether he condemned the video’s content, Trump replied, “Of course I do.”

The video, which was posted late Thursday, pushed a conspiracy theory about voting machines used during the 2020 election and included a racist depiction of the Obamas.

It remained on Trump’s Truth Social account for about 12 hours before being deleted on Friday morning, following widespread bipartisan calls for its removal.

The White House initially defended the post in an emailed statement to reporters on Friday morning by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

She said, “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 added, “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”

Hours after the statement was issued, the video was removed from Trump’s official Truth Social account.

The post triggered swift reactions from political figures and commentators, many of whom described the video as racist and unbecoming of a president.

California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the post in a reaction on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “Disgusting behaviour by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now.”

Political commentator Harry Sisson also criticised the video, calling it deeply offensive.

“Trump posted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. Incredibly racist and disgusting. Beneath the office of the presidency, like everything he does. Every American must condemn this,” he said.