‘Did not make a mistake’: Trump refuses to apologise for video depicting Obamas as monkeys – The Instances of India – Worldwide Dispatch

US President Donald Trump refused to apologise Friday after posting after which deleting a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first girl Michelle Obama as apes in a jungle, insisting he had not seen the offensive content material and blaming a staffer for the error.The video was posted late Thursday night time and remained on-line for practically 12 hours earlier than it was eliminated amid bipartisan outrage, together with criticism from shut Trump allies. The White Home initially defended the publish and dismissed the backlash as “pretend outrage,” however later stated a staffer had posted the video in error.Talking to reporters aboard Air Pressure One on Friday night, Trump acknowledged that he had watched part of the video earlier than it was posted. He stated it was taken down “as quickly as we came upon about it.”“I appeared at first of it. It was tremendous,” Trump stated, referring to the opening portion of the video that contained debunked claims about fraud in voting machines.“It was a really sturdy publish by way of voter fraud,” he continued, as quoted by CNN. “No person knew that that was in the long run. If they’d have appeared, they’d have seen it, and possibly they’d have had the sense to take it down.”Trump stated he handed the video alongside to a staffer after watching the start and stated that individual ought to have reviewed it absolutely earlier than posting it. “Anyone slipped and missed a really small half,” he stated.When requested immediately whether or not he would apologise for the publish, Trump declined.“No,” he stated. “I didn’t make a mistake.”The White Home’s assertion got here after intense backlash, together with from GOP Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the one Black Republican within the Senate, who known as the video racist and urged Trump to take away it.“Praying it was pretend as a result of it’s essentially the most racist factor I’ve seen out of this White Home. The President ought to take away it,” Scott wrote on X.One White Home adviser, as quoted by CNN, stated, “The president was not conscious of that video, and was very let down by the staffer who put it out.” One other ally sought to put blame on a selected aide.Close to the tip of the brief video, the Obamas briefly seem with their faces superimposed onto the our bodies of apes because it promotes false claims that voting machines helped steal the 2020 election. For about one second, the track “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” performs within the background.Former vice chairman Kamala Harris criticised the White Home’s clarification, writing on X, “Nobody believes this cowl up from the White Home, particularly since they initially defended the publish. We’re all clear-eyed about who Donald Trump is and what he believes.”The workplace of California governer Gavin Newsom additionally condemned the video. “Disgusting conduct by the President. Each single Republican should denounce this. Now,” it stated in a publish on X.