Trump refused to apologize after his Truth Social account posted a racist clip depicting the Obama as apes, arguing that he didn’t make the mistake.<\/b>
\nDonald Trump refused to apologize after his Truth Social account posted a racist clip depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, arguing that he wasn\u2019t the one who made the mistake.
The president addressed the controversy while speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Friday, where he admitted that he hadn\u2019t watched the controversial video in its entirety before giving his team the go-ahead to post it on Truth Social.
\u201cI looked at it,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI saw it \u2014 and I just looked at the first part. It was about voter fraud in someplace. Georgia. There was a lot of voter fraud, 2020 voter fraud. And I didn\u2019t see the whole thing.\u201d
He continued: \u201cI guess during the end of it, there was some kind of a picture that people don\u2019t like. I wouldn\u2019t like it either, but I didn\u2019t see it. I just looked at the first part and it was really about voter fraud.\u201d
As Trump went on, he said that he passed the video on to his people, who he defended \u201cgenerally look at the whole thing.\u201d
\u201cBut, I guess, somebody didn\u2019t and they posted it,\u201d the president added. \u201cWe took it down as soon as we found out about it.\u201d
When grilled by reporters on whether he planned to issue an apology, Trump noted point-blank: \u201cNo, I didn\u2019t make a mistake. I mean, I look at a lot. Thousands of things.\u201d
Trump\u2019s defense echoed what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared earlier on Friday. \u201cThis is from an Internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from \u2018The Lion King,\u2019\u201d Leavitt said in a statement. \u201cPlease stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.\u201d
However, the Truth Social post wasn\u2019t the only contentious talking point the president addressed on Air Force One. Specifically, Trump also laid into a female reporter after she suggested that MAGA supporters felt the administration was focusing solely on deportation.
\u201cWell, you\u2019re having a hard time getting readers. is doing very poorly,\u201d Trump snapped. \u201cYou have a very bad attitude. Go ahead.\u201d
Trump\u2019s dig came mere days after he faced backlash for accusing CNN\u2019s Kaitlan Collins of \u201cnot smiling\u201d when she asked him questions about the Epstein Files.
Trump has a history of using misogynistic language against female reporters. His recent attacks have included the use of \u201cnasty,\u201d \u201cpiggy,\u201d \u201cterrible,\u201d \u201cugly\u201d and \u201cincapable.\u201d
Watch Trump\u2019s full exchange with the press corps above.<\/p>\n