United States President Donald Trump has bluntly refused to apologise for sharing a racist AI-generated video depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Speaking late Friday aboard Air Force One, Trump brushed aside criticism, insisting he stood by his action despite the backlash that forced the video’s removal from his Truth Social account.
“I didn’t make a mistake,” he said.
Trump claimed he had not watched the entire clip before it was posted, saying his attention was focused on claims of election fraud.
“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 pressed on whether he condemned the racist imagery in the video, Trump replied, “Of course I do.”
The controversial clip, posted late Thursday, pushed conspiracy theories about voting machines used in the 2020 election and included a brief but highly offensive AI-altered segment portraying the Obamas in a dehumanising manner. The post remained live for about 12 hours before it was deleted on Friday morning following widespread bipartisan condemnation.
Earlier in the day, the White House attempted to play down the uproar. In an emailed statement to reporters, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the post.
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.”
Despite the defence, the video was eventually taken down, as criticism over Trump’s conduct and rhetoric continued to intensify.
