‘I didn’t make a mistake’: Trump won’t apologize for posting of racist Obama meme on his social media accounts

The video sparked widespread outrage across the aisle. The White House initially defended the posting of the video as a depiction of “The Lion King” before blaming a staffer for the video being uploaded to Trump’s Truth Social account.

While referring to himself as the “least racist President,” President Donald Trump refused to apologize Friday for a social media post on his Truth Social account that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes in the jungle.

Trump told reporters he hadn’t seen the final frames of the video and insisted that a staffer’s actions were responsible for the mistake. It was the first acknowledgment that Trump had at least seen portions of the video. After it was posted on Thursday, it remained online for at least 12 hours, despite Trump saying the video was removed “as soon as we found out about it.”

“I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine,” Trump said, referring to a portion that amplified claims of voter fraud in Georgia during the 2020 election, which have been debunked numerous times. “It was a very strong post in terms of voter fraud,” he went on. “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.”

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When asked if he would apologize amid bipartisan outrage over the video, the President declined.

“No,” he said. “I didn’t make a mistake.”

Trump said he condemned the racist portion of the video while adding later, “I am, by the way, the least racist president you’ve had in a long time.”

Still, Trump’s words might not be enough for some longtime supporters, whether in Congress or among his voter base. One man called into C-SPAN’s “Open Forum” on Friday, slamming Trump over the video and apologizing for backing him in the past three presidential elections.

South Carolina preacher Mark Burns, a longtime Trump advisor, said he spoke with Trump directly about the video.

“The President made it clear to me that this post was made by a staffer and not by him,” Burns wrote on X. “My recommendation to the President was direct and firm. That staffer should be fired immediately, and the President should publicly condemn this action.”

Burns later reposted the video on his social media account.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris slammed the White House’s response to the video, first calling the outrage “fake backlash” and then later attributing the post to a rogue staffer.

“No one believes this cover up from the White House, especially since they originally defended the post.” Harris wrote on X. “We are all clear-eyed about who Donald Trump is and what he believes.”

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. https://t.co/RbUsqAtQzD— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 6, 2026

Hakeem Jeffries, the lone Black party leader in Congress, offered a blunt, stronger take on Instagram.

“F–k Donald Trump and his vile, racist, and malignant behavior. This guy is an unhinged bottom feeder,” he said.