Donald Trump refuses to apologise for racist post about Obamas as monkeys, says ‘I didn't make a mistake’

US President Donald Trump declined to apologise on Friday (local time) after sharing, and later deleting, a racist video portraying former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes in a jungle, claiming he hadn’t seen the final frames with the offensive imagery and attributing the error to a staffer, according to a report by CNN.

The White House initially defended the post but removed it early Friday, about 12 hours after it was published. When reporters later asked Trump if he condemned the video, he responded, “Of course I do.”

A White House official said that “a White House staffer erroneously made the post” and it had been taken down.

When directly asked if he would apologise amid Republican calls to do so, he refused, CNN reported.

According to a report by Reuters, the post sparked criticism from both parties, including from Republican Senator Tim Scott, a Black lawmaker and longtime Trump ally. “Praying it was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House,” Scott said on X. “The President should remove it.”

Other lawmakers in Trump's Republican Party called on him to apologise and delete the post. Some Republican lawmakers also privately reached out to the White House about the video, according to a source familiar with the matter, Reuters reported.

Reuters reported that when asked about calls from Republicans and others for him to apologise, Trump said, “I didn't make a mistake. I mean, I give, I look at a lot - thousands of things.”

Trump has a history of spreading racist rhetoric, including repeatedly promoting the false “birther” conspiracy that claimed former President Obama, who served from 2009 to 2017, was not born in the United States. Speaking at a prayer breakfast on Thursday, Trump described Obama as “very bad” and a “terrible divider of our country.”

Before the post was deleted, Leavitt said it was "from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King." Trump's clip included a song used in that Disney musical.

White supremacists have for centuries depicted people of African ancestry as monkeys or apes as part of campaigns to dehumanize and dominate Black populations.

“Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history,” said Ben Rhodes, a former Obama aide, on X.

Thursday’s post raised questions about the procedures governing Trump’s social media, which can influence markets and provoke international tensions.

Mark Burns, a Black pastor and Trump supporter, said on X that the president told him on Friday a staffer was responsible for the post, and Burns called for that person to be fired.

Trump has previously criticised his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, for allegedly failing to closely monitor presidential memoranda issued under his name and signed using an “auto-pen.”

In December, Trump called Somalis “garbage” and said they should be expelled from the country. He has also referred to that and other developing nations as “shithole countries.” Last year, he faced criticism for posting an image of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is Black, with a superimposed handlebar mustache and a sombrero.

(With inputs from agencies)