The clip is only a few seconds long, but it lands with the thud of something older than the internet: a racist trope, repackaged as 'content,' and waved away as politics-as-usual. When PresidentDonald Trumpwas asked about the Truth Social video that ends by depicting Barack andMichelle Obamaas apes, he did not offer regret so much as a performance of indifference calling it 'doing very well' and insisting the wider package was about 'voter fraud.' Trump's remarks, delivered at theWhite Houseon Feb. 12, are the sort of response that invites a grim question: when the humiliation is the point, what exactly is the apology meant to fix?

In the exchange, Trump described the post as 'a video on, as you know, voter fraud' and repeated that it was 'doing very well.' He acknowledged there was 'a little piece' at the end and said it 'had to do withThe Lion King,' adding that it had been 'shown all over the place' long before it appeared on his account.

That framing matters because it is doing a very specific job. By talking up the length of the video and the supposed seriousness of its message, Trump effectively tried to demote the racist depiction of the Obamas to an afterthought, an editing flourish, a misunderstanding by those who 'missed the point.' Yet the same video, as RadarOnline reported, was built around claims of a stolen 2020 election that were 'mostly false,' with allegations about 'voting machines' being manipulated.

Axios noted the post was shared at 11:44 p.m. ET on Thursday and remained online for roughly 12 hours before it was removed. RadarOnline, meanwhile, reported it was taken down a few hours after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed criticism as 'fake outrage.' Taken together, the timeline does not suggest a rush of contrition; it suggests a calculation about heat, optics, and how long a controversy can be left to burn before the cost outweighs the benefit.​

One of the striking aspects of this episode is that some of the sharpest language came from Trump's own side. Senator Tim Scott, a Trump ally, said he was 'praying it was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House'. Senator Roger Wicker called it 'totally unacceptable' and said 'The president should take it down and apologize.'​

Leavitt chose a different note, telling the media to 'please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.' Axios also underscored why the imagery detonated so quickly: depicting Black people as apes or monkeys is a long-standing dehumanising trope, not a harmless meme format. That history is precisely why attempts to shrug and move on read less like damage control and more like contempt for the audience especially the audience expected to swallow it quietly.​

The White House,accordingto RadarOnline, blamed a staffer for the repost; it also said the only other known people with access to Trump's account are deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and Natalie Harp, a former One America News personality. Asked on Feb. 12 whether he had fired the staffer responsible, Trump's answer was blunt: 'No, I haven't.'

BREAKING: Trump just posted a video on Truth Social that includes a racist image of Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys.There’s no bottompic.twitter.com/zPEGa94dYO

And then, almost as if on cue, came the counter-programming. RadarOnline reported Trump had recently shared posts highlighting friendships with Black celebrities including Michael Jackson and Mike Tyson, writing 'How quickly people forget. So Sad! President DJT,' alongside a video of him kissing Black babies.

He also insisted he has done 'more for Black Americans than anybody with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln.' Next week, the White House is due to hold a Black History Month reception, followed by a Republican National Committee 'Black Americans for Trump' reception.

Source: International Business Times UK