President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed that he was the one who shared a conspiracy video, which featured racist depictions of former President Barack Obama and his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, as primates, and asked for it to be shared on his social media account, and then refused to apologize for his actions when asked by reporters. In a video shared by Acyn on X, Trump stated, “I didn’t see the whole thing, but I gave it to the people, and it was posted.” When asked if he was going to apologize for his actions, Trump stated, “No, I didn’t make a mistake.”
The statement by Trump contradicts what was stated by the White House, which stated earlier in the day that a staffer had “erroneously made the post” after the video was removed.
Both parties condemned the video, which they posted on Thursday night. By Friday, Trump’s account no longer had the video link, and the White House confirmed its removal.
ABC News reported that it was shared at 11:44 p.m. ET Thursday night and that press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially dismissed criticism of the post as ‘fake outrage’ and stated that it was an ‘internet meme video’ portraying Trump as ‘King of the Jungle’ and Democrats as characters from ‘The Lion King.’
The video, lasting approximately one minute, presented allegations of election rigging in the 2020 election, a claim repeatedly refuted. Towards the end of the video, there was a short clip of the Obamas’ faces being superimposed onto monkeys, accompanied by music called “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” as reported by ABC.
The video did not sit well with lawmakers, as they were not pleased with its content. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who posted about it on X, stated that the Obamas “represent the best of this country,” while Trump is “a vile, unhinged, and malignant bottom feeder.” “Jeffries called for Republicans to denounce ‘this disgusting bigotry.’”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it “racist, vile, and abhorrent,” as he posted on X.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker also commented on X, stating it was “totally unacceptable” and calling for Trump to remove it and also apologize for it.
Republican Senator Tim Scott, who is also the NRSC chairman, also called for the removal.
Scott said he was “praying it was fake” and called it “the most racist thing” he had seen from the White House. CBS reported Trump later told Scott the repost was a staff mistake and said he would remove it.
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