The staffer blamed by Donald Trump for posting a racist video about former President Obama has not been disciplined or fired, the president has admitted.
Trump has repeatedly tried to downplay criticism of the video, which was uploaded to his Truth Social account last Thursday and depicted Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Amid widespread backlash, the president previously shifted the blame to an as-yet unnamed staffer.
“Have you fired or disciplined that staffer who posted the video from your account that included the Obamas?” a reporter asked the president at a White House event Thursday.
“No, I haven't,” Trump replied. “That was a video on, as you know, voter fraud and...fairly long video...and they had a little piece and had to do with The Lion King.”
Previously, Trump insisted he did not see the whole video before giving it to the people who run his Truth Social account. He also insisted the clip was already “all over the place.”
But, when asked whether he personally would condemn the racist clip, Trump was blunt: “Of course I do.”
At no point has he apologized for the video, although the White House has conceded that it was posted “erroneously.”
Trump’s remarks were in stark contrast to the stance held by the rest of his administration. His vice president JD Vance defended the clip as recently as Wednesday.
“It’s not a real controversy,” Vance told reporters, before boarding Air Force Two. “We have much, much more real problems to focus on.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also defended the clip in a fiery response.
“Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public,” she told journalists.
The video depicted other prominent Democrats as animals, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The clip was accompanied by the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
Even members of Trump’s own party have condemned the video, with many slamming the president for allowing the clip to be posted and for failing to apologize.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” Republican Senator Tim Scott wrote on social media. “The President should remove it.”
Days later, Scott endorsed Republican Senator Susan Collins for reelection in Maine, despite Collins being one of Trump’s nemeses in Congress.
Like Scott, she has slammed Trump for allowing the video to be posted to his Truth Social account.
Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts, Utah Senator John Curtis, Representative Mike Lawler and Nebraska Representative Don Bacon were also amongst those calling for Trump to say sorry.
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