Trump administration news: Maxwell can clear president’s name in exchange for clemency, attorney says
Trump won’t apologize for sharing racist video of Obamas
Trump won’t apologize for sharing racist video of Obamas
01:59
President Donald Trump drew swift condemnation from Democrats and Republicans for a since-deleted racist video posted to his Truth Social account depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes in a jungle.
The social media post, which Trump has refused to apologize for sharing, was the latest in a long line of offensive messages amplified by the his account.
Here’s what you need to know:
The video Trump shared largely contained debunked claims about fraud in voting machines. As that section of the video ended, a separate clip showing the Obamas’ faces superimposed on the bodies of apes played, set to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
The post, which recalls the racist trope of comparing Black people with monkeys, prompted swift backlash. It was online for roughly 12 hours before it was deleted from Trump’s feed.
The White House initially defended the post and downplayed the response to the video, calling it “fake outrage.” Following a bipartisan backlash, the White House then told CNN a “staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down.”
Trump said that neither he nor his staff had seen all of the video before it was posted to Truth Social.
“Nobody knew that that was in the end. If they would have looked, they would have seen it, and probably they would have had the sense to take it down.”
When asked directly whether he would apologize, he declined.
When pressed, Trump said he condemned the racist portion of the clip. “Of course I do,” he said.
“I am, by the way, the least racist president you’ve had in a long time,” he said.
CNN’s Alayna Treene, Adam Cancryn and Ellis Kim contributed to this reporting.
