US President Donald Trump has said he made no mistake in briefly sharing a video on his official Truth Social account that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Speaking late Friday to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he did not regret posting the video and did not believe an apology was necessary.
“I didn’t make a mistake,” he said.
Trump explained that he had not watched the entire clip before it was shared.
“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,” he said. “Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they look at the whole thing. But I guess somebody didn’t.”
When asked whether he condemned the video’s content, Trump replied, “Of course I do.”
The video, posted late Thursday, promoted a conspiracy theory about voting machines used in the 2020 election and included a racist depiction of the Obamas. It remained on Trump’s Truth Social account for approximately 12 hours before being deleted on Friday morning, following widespread bipartisan calls for its removal.
Earlier on Friday, the White House defended the post in an emailed statement from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“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 said. She added, “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
The video was removed from Trump’s account several hours after the statement was issued.
