President Trump told Sen. Tim Scott that he didn’t see the tail end of the video posted to his Truth Social account that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes – saying the senator “understood 100%.”
Trump said he didn’t see the entire video of a “Lion King” meme before it was posted and phoned Scott (R-S.C.), the only black Republican in the Senate, after he demanded Trump remove it.
“I spoke to Tim Scott. He was great. Tim is a great guy. He understood that 100%,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Florida Friday night.
President Trump said Senator Tim Scott “understood 100%” after they spoke about the controversial video. AP“I didn’t see the whole thing,” Trump said about the controversial video which sparked backlash.
“I guess during the end of it there was some kind of a picture that people don’t like. I wouldn’t like it either,” he added.
Trump said he “liked the beginning” of the roughly one-minute video and passed it on.
“I didn’t see it. I looked at the first part,” Trump urged, adding that he only looked at the first part of the video – about “voter fraud in some place, Georgia.”
The White House has blamed an unidentified staffer for the gaffe.
That person, Trump said, didn’t look at the whole video.
Senator Scott called on Trump to remove the video. Getty Images
Trump said he didn’t see the end of the video that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as gorillas. Getty Images“Generally they look at the whole thing, but I guess somebody didn’t,” he added. “We took it down as soon as we found out.”
When pressed by reporters, Trump declined to offer an apology. “No, I didn’t make a mistake. I mean, I look at a lot of – thousands of things. I looked at the beginning of it, it was fine,” he said.
His comments came hours after the White Housedeleted the video from Trump’s Truth Social account.
