President Donald Trump stated that he will not apologize for the video shared on Truth Social in which former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama appear with ape bodies, a clip that generated strong criticism for its content considered racist, CNN reported.

Trump was questioned by the press aboard Air Force One about the publication. The president explained that he only saw the first part of the video, which discussed alleged voter fraud in 2020, a claim that has not been proven, and that he did not see the final segment where the Obamas' images appeared. The president acknowledged that the content should not have been published, but avoided apologizing, arguing that the video was removed "as soon as we found out," although social media users indicated that the post was visible for several hours. According to CNN, Trump commented that the initial part of the video "was fine" in reference to the election topic and also explained that after watching it, he sent it to someone on his team, who subsequently did not watch the entire video: "Someone slipped and missed a very small piece." Trump assured the press that he had spoken with Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, considered one of Trump's allies, who described the material as potentially "the most racist thing to come out of the White House" if it turned out to be real.

When questioned further by reporters, Trump asserted that he condemned the racist portion of the video; However, when asked if he would offer a public apology, he responded directly: “No. I was not wrong.”