'I didn't make a mistake': Trump refuses to apologise for since-deleted racist post about Obamas
A social media post by US President Donald Trump depicted former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle. It was deleted on Friday after a backlash from both Republicans and Democrats.
US President Donald Trump refused to apologise on Friday for a racist video he posted on his social media platform Truth Social, which depicted the former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as primates.
Following widespread backlash for its treatment of the nation’s first Black president and first lady, the post was blamed on a staffer and deleted.
Near the end of the one-minute-long video promoting conspiracies about Republican Trump's 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, the Obamas were shown with their faces on the bodies of apes for about one second.
The video repeated false allegations that ballot-counting company Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the election from Trump.
The frames of the Obamas at the end of the clip originated from a separate video, previously circulated by an influential conservative meme maker. It shows a lion Trump as “King of the Jungle” and depicts Democratic leaders as other animals.
A rare admission of a misstep by the White House, the deletion came hours after press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed “fake outrage” over the post. After calls for its removal — including by Republicans — the White House said a staffer had posted the video erroneously.
"I didn't make a mistake," Trump said on Air Force One late Friday when asked if he would apologise for the post.
"I just looked at the first part... and I didn't see the whole thing," Trump said, adding that he "gave it" to staffers to post and they also didn't watch the full video.
Asked if he condemns the racist imagery in the video, Trump replied: "Of course I do."
Former vice president Kamala Harris called out the White House's backpedaling in a post on X on Friday.
"No one believes this cover up from the White House, especially since they originally defended this post," she wrote.
"We are all clear-eyed about who Donald Trump is and what he believes."
There is a long history in the US of powerful white figures associating Black people with animals, including apes, in demonstrably false, racist ways. The practice dates to 18th century cultural racism and pseudo-scientific theories used to justify the enslavement of Black people, and later to dehumanise freed Black people as uncivilised threats to white people.
When Obama was in the White House, Trump pushed false claims that the 44th president, who was born in Hawaii, was born in Kenya and constitutionally ineligible to serve. Trump had demanded that Obama prove he was a “natural-born citizen” as required to become president.
The White House explanation also raises questions about control of Trump’s social media account, which he's used to levy import taxes, threaten military action, make other announcements and intimidate political rivals. The president often signs his name or initials after policy posts.
The White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry about how posts are vetted and when the public can know when Trump himself is posting.
'All American': Everything we know about MAGA's protest Super Bowl Halftime Show
MAGA is preparing to hold the All-American Halftime Show in protest of the NFL’s 2026 Super Bowl music acts. Prepare to be underwhelmed.
The NFL's Super Bowl LX takes place this weekend, with multi-Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny headlining the US' most-watched television event, which attracts more than 100 million viewers every year.
The Halftime Show is a huge and coveted gig, which has a long history of reflecting and influencing cultural trends.
Last year, Kendrick Lamar’s headlining performance shattered all records with 133.5 million viewers tuning in. Bad Bunny is expected to match if not surpass that record, but no thanks to the MAGA crowd.
Diversity-averse rightwing media has been up in arms over the choice of headliner for months now, with many saying that Bad Bunny’s music is "un-American" and “woke”, handily forgetting for the sake of barely concealed racism that the singer is an American citizen, since Puerto Rico is part of the US.
Funny how no one was complaining when Canadian singer Shania Twain or the UK’s The Rolling Stones were headlining...
Bad Bunny was recently described by Donald Trump as a “terrible choice” for the Super Bowl headline slot, with one of his advisors even confirming that ICE would be present at the “shameful” concert.
Despite criticism and plenty of complaining about American football’s biggest night being hijacked by a “left-wing conspiracy”, the NFL did not drop(kick) Bad Bunny. The organisation even appeared to double down in defying Trump, as they added rock band Green Day, who are vocal Trump critics, to the Super Bowl line-up.
There was renewed MAGA outrage when the Puerto Rican superstar blasted the Trump administration and ICE while accepting the top award at this year’s Grammys, saying: “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out”, adding, “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”
The MAGA response? Counterprogramming.
Turning Point USA – the conservative group founded by Charlie Kirk and now helmed by his widow Erika Kirk - has organised an alternative, competing halftime show titled the “All American Halftime Show”.
It will celebrate “American faith, family, and freedom,” the organization said.
So, who’s on the powerhouse and not-at-all-underwhelming line-up?
Trump supporter Kid Rock is headlining, and he will be joined by country singers Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, Gabby Barrett.
It’s a veritable Who’s WHO?
“We’re approaching this show like David and Goliath,” Kid Rock said in a statement issued through Turning Point USA. “Competing with the pro football machine and a global pop superstar is almost impossible…or is it?”
The singer, who hasn’t had a hit song since the dire Lynyrd Skynyrd-pilfering ‘All Summer Long’ in 2008, added: “He’s said he’s having a dance party, wearing a dress, and singing in Spanish? Cool. We plan to play great songs for folks who love America.”
Best of luck with that, as the Goliath he mentions dethroned Taylor Swift to become Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2025 and made history last weekend as the first Spanish-language artist to win the Grammy’s Album of the Year with 'DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS'.
The All-American Halftime Show is scheduled to take place the same night as the 2026 Super Bowl – Sunday 8 February – at a location that is still unknown. It will broadcast across four conservative networks: DailyWire+, TBN, Charge!, and Real America’s Voice. It will also stream on Turning Point USA’s social media channels.
We’re betting that Bad Bunny won't lose sleep over it – especially since those supposed All-American values Turning Point USA are trumpeting apparently don’t concern themselves with Kid Rock’s unsavoury lyrics.
Indeed, there has been fresh scrutiny online over Mr. Rock’s song ‘Cool, Daddy Cool’ in the lead up to the protest show, with the song’s lyrics featuring the lines: “Young ladies, young ladies / I like 'em underage / See, some say that's statutory / But I say it's mandatory.”
Maybe that’s what “American faith, family, and freedom” sounds like.
The NFL's Super Bowl LX will take place on Sunday 8 February. The NFL chief security officer Cathy Lanier recently said at a security briefing that despite previous comments made by the Trump administration, ICE officers will not be among the federal agencies present at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
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