Trump Refuses To Apologize For Racist Ape Video Of…
President Donald Trump is doubling down amid bipartisan backlash for posting a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first girl Michelle Obama as apes. While the late Thursday night time video has since been eliminated, Trump insists he didn’t view the full clip before it was shared and has declined to apologize.
Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
What Trump Told Reporters About The Video
According to ABC News, Trump addressed the controversy Friday night while talking with reporters aboard Air Force One. He claimed he only watched the starting of the video, which centered on debunked claims about voter fraud tied to the 2020 election, and didn’t see the racist imagery that appeared at the end.
“I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of picture people don’t like. I wouldn’t like it either, but I didn’t see it,” Trump said. “I just, I looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud.”
ABC News experiences that the video abruptly cuts to imagery displaying the Obamas’ faces positioned on the our bodies of apes, accompanied by the music The Lion Sleeps Tonight, before returning to election conspiracy footage. The submit went live at roughly 11:44 p.m. ET on Thursday and was taken down by noon Friday following widespread criticism.
When requested whether or not he would apologize, Trump declined.
“No, I didn’t make a mistake,” he said, including that he reviews “thousands of things” and located the starting of the video “fine.” However, when pressed on whether or not he condemned the racist imagery itself, Trump responded, “Of course I do.”
White House Response And Lawmaker Condemnation
ABC News states that the White House initially defended the submit. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the backlash in an early assertion, characterizing the video as an web meme and accusing critics of “fake outrage.” Later Friday, a White House official told ABC News that a staffer had “erroneously made the post,” marking a shift in the administration’s response.
Lawmakers from each events condemned the video. Republican Sen. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, called the submit “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House” and urged Trump to take away it. Trump later confirmed he spoke with Scott by cellphone, telling him the submit was a mistake and can be taken down.
Democratic leaders had been more direct. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries defended the Obamas as “brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans,” while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the imagery as “racist,” “vile,” and “abhorrent,” calling for an apology.
ABC News states that the Obamas declined to remark when contacted and later shared unrelated posts wishing Team USA luck at the Winter Olympics.
Cultural Context
Whether Trump watched the full video, he reposted it. Previously reported by BOSSIP, the AI-generated video made it onto Trump’s Truth Social account under the guise of highlighting alleged voting machine “anomalies.”
Embedded within that content was imagery depicting the Obamas as apes, a racist trope traditionally used to dehumanize Black people and reinforce white supremacist ideology. It’s not “just a meme.”
Is this his “Great America?”
The White House’s preliminary response was not accountability, however dismissal. The administration waved off criticism as inconsequential and labeled public outrage as “fake” before pivoting guilty a staffer amid mounting backlash. Then, making an attempt to move it off as a Lion King reference?
Seems like the consideration span or to element shouldn’t be there.
Again, why does such imagery continue to flow into unchecked in political areas?
Going Forward
As the controversy continues, this raises bigger questions about accountability in the digital age. Why is the Trump administration so snug utilizing faux, insensitive and incorrect AI movies? Remember the “Y.N.” controversy?
The normalization of racist symbolism in political messaging is turning into tougher to swallow, with the hurt being each seen and traditionally rooted.
The submit Trump Refuses To Apologize For Racist Ape Video Of Obamas, Says He ‘Didn’t See’ It: ‘I Didn’t Make A Mistake’ appeared first on Bossip.
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