President Donald Trump on Friday refused to apologize for a racist social media post featuring Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys, though he said he condemned it as the White House shifted the blame to staff.
The video shared on Trump's Truth Social account late Thursday night sparked censure across the US political spectrum, with the White House initially rejecting "fake outrage" only to then blame the post on an error by a staff member.
"I didn't make a mistake," Trump said on Air Force One late Friday when asked if he would apologize for the post.
Asked if he condemns the racist imagery in the video, Trump replied: "Of course I do."
Democrats slammed Trump as "vile" over the clip of the Obamas, the first Black president and first lady in U.S. history, while a senior Republican senator said the video was blatantly racist.
