NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 7 — A racially offensive video targeting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama was removed from President Donald Trump’s social media account after triggering widespread outrage, CNN reported.
The video, which depicted the Obamas as apes in a jungle, was posted late Thursday night and remained online for nearly 12 hours before it was deleted.
Its removal followed bipartisan criticism, including from some of Trump’s allies, prompting a day of damage control at the White House.
According to CNN, a White House official said a staffer was responsible for the post, describing it as an error.
“A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down,” the official told the network after the video was deleted.
However, President Trump on Friday declined to apologise, saying he had watched only part of the video and was unaware of the offensive ending.
‘It was fine’
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he viewed the beginning of the clip, which he described as focused on debunked claims of voter fraud.
“I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine,” Trump said, according to CNN.
“It was a very strong post in terms of voter fraud. Nobody knew that that was in the end. If they would have looked, they would have seen it, and probably they would have had the sense to take it down.”
Trump said he forwarded the video to a staffer after watching the initial portion.
“Somebody slipped and missed a very small part,” he said. When asked directly whether he would apologise, he responded: “No. I didn’t make a mistake.”
Vice President Kamala Harris criticised the White House explanation.
“No one believes this cover-up from the White House, especially since they originally defended the post. We are all clear-eyed about who Donald Trump is and what he believes,” she said.
Earlier in the day, the White House had downplayed criticism, calling the backlash “fake outrage.”
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the clip was “an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King,” urging media outlets to focus on other issues.
The deletion of the post marked a sharp shift in tone from the administration’s initial defence, CNN noted.
Trump later described himself as the “least racist president” following the controversy.
“I am, by the way, the least racist president you’ve had in a long time, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.