Washington. US President Donald Trump has said he will not apologise for sharing a social media video that included a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
The video, which was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account, featured a clip portraying the Obamas as apes — a racist stereotype widely condemned as offensive. It appeared at the end of a 62-second montage focused on alleged voter fraud claims linked to the 2020 US presidential election.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump insisted he had done nothing wrong.
“I didn’t make a mistake,” he said when asked whether he planned to apologise.
Trump said he had only watched the beginning of the video and that it had been posted by a staff member without him seeing the controversial ending.
“I didn’t see that part,” he added.
The post quickly drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, with several lawmakers describing it as racist and inappropriate for the presidency.
Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is Black and considered an ally of Trump, said the video was “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House”.
“The President should remove it,” he added.
Another Republican, New York Representative Mike Lawler, called the post “wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake” and said it should be deleted with an apology.
Following the backlash, the video was taken down. A White House official later said a staff member had “erroneously” posted it.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially described the clip as an “internet meme video” portraying Trump as the “King of the Jungle” while depicting Democrats as characters from The Lion King. She urged critics to “stop the fake outrage”.
However, criticism continued even after the post was removed.
Utah Republican Senator John Curtis said the video was “blatantly racist and inexcusable” and should never have been posted.
According to CBS News, Florida Representative Byron Donalds, a longtime Trump supporter, contacted the White House and was told the incident was the result of a staff error.
The video is believed to have originated from a post on X by a conservative meme creator. It also depicted other prominent Democrats as animals, including New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Former President Joe Biden was also shown as an ape.
The Obamas have not publicly commented on the video.
Civil rights groups strongly condemned the post.
Derrick Johnson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), described it as “disgusting and utterly despicable,” accusing Trump of attempting to distract the public from other national issues.
Several Democratic leaders also criticised the president.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said simply: “Donald Trump is a racist,” while California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office called the incident “disgusting behaviour by the president”.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged Republicans to denounce what he described as “disgusting bigotry”.
The video was one of dozens posted overnight on Trump’s account. The president said he reviews large amounts of online material and relies on aides to screen content.
“We took it down as soon as we found out about it,” he said.
Trump has had a long and contentious history with Obama. Before his first term in office, he repeatedly promoted false claims questioning Obama’s birthplace, which were later discredited. He eventually acknowledged that Obama was born in the United States.
