Trump Declines to Apologise After Sharing Video Critics Say Is Racist- Donald Trump has declined to apologise after posting a video that depicts former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, prompting widespread condemnation from civil rights organisations and renewed scrutiny of the president’s record on race.
The video, shared on Trump’s social media account, remained online for several hours before being taken down. During that time it spread rapidly, drawing criticism from historians, political figures, and advocacy groups who said the imagery echoed a long-standing racist trope used to dehumanise Black people.
Despite the backlash, Trump has rejected calls to express regret. Speaking after the controversy erupted, he dismissed criticism of the video and declined to acknowledge that it caused offence. The White House has offered no detailed explanation for why the video was shared or why it was allowed to remain visible for an extended period.
Advocates say the imagery requires no interpretation.
“This is not subtle or subjective,” said a spokesperson for a US civil rights organisation. “Portraying Black people as apes is one of the oldest forms of racial dehumanisation. It has been used for centuries to justify discrimination and violence.”
Supporters of the president have argued that the video was intended as political satire and that critics are deliberately overreacting. Others have claimed it should be viewed in a broader context. Those arguments have been rejected by scholars of race and media, who say historical meaning cannot be separated from modern usage.
“When symbols like this reappear, they bring their history with them,” said one academic expert. “Intent does not erase impact.”
The incident has also revived attention on Trump’s long-standing controversies related to race. In the 1970s, Trump and his father Fred Trump were sued by the US Department of Justice over allegations of housing discrimination against Black tenants, a case that was settled without an admission of wrongdoing. In 1989, Trump purchased full-page newspaper advertisements calling for the death penalty following the arrest of five teenagers in the Central Park jogger case. The men were later exonerated, but Trump continued to publicly question their innocence.
During Barack Obama’s presidency, Trump became the most prominent advocate of the false claim that Obama was not born in the United States — a conspiracy theory that was repeatedly debunked but widely viewed by scholars as racially motivated.
Critics say this context makes Trump’s refusal to apologise especially significant.
“When a leader is confronted with harm and responds with defiance rather than reflection, it sends a message,” said a historian specialising in political communication. “It signals what is tolerated — and what is not.”
The controversy comes amid broader concerns about the rise of racist and extremist language online. Multiple studies have shown an increase in hate speech on social media platforms over the past decade, often surging during periods of political tension. Researchers have warned that repeated exposure to such content can contribute to psychological harm, particularly among minority communities.
Digital rights experts note that the source of such content matters as much as the content itself.
“A post from an ordinary user is damaging enough,” said one researcher. “But when it comes from a sitting president, it carries institutional weight. Even refusing to apologise becomes a form of endorsement.”
The episode has also resonated with parents and educators, many of whom have spoken about the difficulty of explaining racist imagery to children who encounter it online or through news coverage. Several said they believed society had moved beyond such depictions, only to see them re-emerge in mainstream political discourse.
Democratic lawmakers have accused Trump of legitimising racism and emboldening extremist views. Some Republicans have remained silent, while others have defended the president, echoing claims that the criticism is exaggerated.
There has been no indication from the White House that it plans to review its social media practices or issue a formal clarification. While the video itself has been removed, critics argue the broader implications remain.
“This isn’t just about a single post,” said an anti-racism campaigner. “It’s about whether we accept the return of ideas we once agreed had no place in public life — and what it means when those ideas are defended from the very top.”
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