The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has explained that he made no mistake for a short video clip shared on his official Truth Social handle depicting former President Barack Obama and his Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Speaking to reporters late Friday aboard Air Force One, Trump declined to apologise when asked if he would, insisting that the viral video was ‘not a mistake.’
“I didn’t make a mistake,” he said.
Trump explained that he did not watch the entire clip before it was posted.
“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.
“Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they look at the whole thing. But I guess somebody didn’t,” he said.
When asked directly whether he condemned the video’s content, Trump replied, “Of course I do.”
However, Trump further explained that the video, which was posted late Thursday, depicts a conspiracy theory regarding 2020 election voting machines, he added that while he had not viewed the content in its entirety, he stood by the ‘important theme’ of the clip.
It remained on Trump’s Truth Social account for about 12 hours before being deleted on Friday morning, following widespread condemnation and calls for its removal especially from the opposition wing.
The White House initially defended the post in an emailed statement to reporters on Friday morning by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
She said, “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 added, “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
Hours after the statement was issued, the video was removed from Trump’s official Truth Social account.
