Donald Trump insists he will not apologize for a racist video clip targeting Barack and Michelle Obama that was posted on his Truth Social account, claiming he did not watch it in full and blaming staff for posting it instead of him.
Foreign news agencies reported that U.S. President Donald Trump refused to apologize after a racist video showing Barack and Michelle Obama depicted as apes was circulated on his Truth Social account last Friday (6 Feb 2026). Trump stated that he did not see the part containing the racist content.
The 62-second video featured the song 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' and alleged election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. It also showed other Democratic Party members portrayed as animals before ending with images of the Obamas as a couple.
The video was later removed following widespread condemnation from all sides, including Democrats and members of Trump's own Republican Party.
In a Friday interview, when asked if he would apologize for the incident, Trump replied, “No, I did nothing wrong.” He added that he only saw the beginning of the video before staff posted it and was unaware it contained racist images of the Obama family.
Initially, the White House tried to excuse the video by calling it an internet 'meme' and urged people to stop the 'fake outrage'.
However, after strong backlash, including from several Republican senators, the video was deleted from Trump’s Truth Social account. White House officials blamed a staff member for posting the video by mistake.
One Republican senator who condemned the posting was Tim Scott, an African American, who described it as “the most racist thing I have seen from this White House staff.”
The video was one of dozens posted overnight on Trump’s Truth Social account.
“I look at thousands of things,” President Trump said aboard Air Force One on Friday. He added that after watching only part of the video, he forwarded it to staff members who normally review clips before posting.
Trump said he liked the section discussing election fraud and blamed staff, saying if they had watched the entire video, “they would have had the common sense to take it down.” He claimed, “We removed it as soon as we found out.”
Derrick Johnson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), called the video “disgusting and highly offensive,” accusing Trump of trying to distract the public from the Epstein case and the “rapidly failing economy.”
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Source:bbc