The U.S. president has declined to apologize after a controversial post on his Truth Social account triggered widespread backlash online.
Donald Trump drew intense criticism after sharing a video that included a racist segment portraying former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. The reaction was strong enough that CNN briefly interrupted its live programming on Friday to report on the controversy.
Trump later claimed he was unaware of the offensive portion of the video, saying he “didn’t see” that segment before it was posted. The clip appeared at the end of a 62-second video that largely focused on Trump’s repeated and unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The background music for the final segment was the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight. The post was eventually deleted.
When asked by reporters whether he intended to apologize, Trump refused, stating, “I didn’t make a mistake.” He explained that he had only reviewed the beginning of the video, which he said dealt with voting machines and election integrity, and then allowed others to review the rest.
During a breaking news segment, CNN anchor Erin Burnett paused her broadcast to air audio of Trump’s remarks. After the White House took roughly 12 hours to remove the post, Burnett described the video as “racist and offensive.”
Burnett was joined by political reporter Astead W. Herndon and attorney Andrew Yang to discuss the fallout. Herndon noted that the administration’s initial response was to defend the post, followed by partial walkbacks after public backlash intensified.
He described the incident as both shocking and predictable, arguing that Trump’s political rise has long been intertwined with racially charged narratives. Herndon pointed out that Trump’s early prominence in national politics was closely linked to the false conspiracy theory questioning Barack Obama’s citizenship.
According to Herndon, repeated incidents like this are eroding the credibility of the White House. He said administration officials are increasingly asking the public to dismiss what they can plainly see, whether on issues related to public safety, the president’s health, or controversial media posts.
He added that this pattern may be contributing to Trump’s growing unpopularity among voters.
The video also reportedly included an image of President Joe Biden depicted as an ape eating a banana. As of now, Barack and Michelle Obama have not publicly responded to the video or the controversy surrounding it.
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