Trump refuses to apologise for post of Obamas as monkeys

White House eventually blames the post on an error by a staff member

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US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump seeing off former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama as they departed following Mr Trump's inauguration at the Capitol in Washington in 2017. There was no immediate comment from the Obamas over the Feb 5 racist post.

(PHOTO: REUTERS)

US President Donald Trump refused to apologise on Feb 6 for a video posted on his social media account depicting former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama as monkeys.

However, he said he condemned the post, as the White House shifted the blame to staff.

The video, shared on Mr Trump’s Truth Social account late in the night of Feb 5, sparked censure across the US political spectrum, with the White House initially rejecting what it said was “fake outrage”, only to then blame the post on an error by a staff member.

“I didn’t make a mistake,” Mr Trump said on Air Force One late on Feb 6 when asked if he would apologise for the post.

Asked if he condemns the racist imagery in the video, Mr Trump replied: “Of course I do.”

Democrats slammed Mr Trump as “vile” over the post about the Obamas - the first Black president and first lady in US history — while a senior Republican senator said the video was blatantly racist.

Near the end of the one-minute-long video promoting conspiracies about Republican Trump’s 2020 election loss to Mr Joe Biden, the Obamas were shown with their faces on the bodies of monkeys for about one second.