US President Donald Trump has stated that he made no mistake for a video briefly shared on his official Truth Social account that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Speaking late Friday to the press accompanying him aboard Air Force One, Trump insisted he made no mistake by sharing the video and does not need to apologize.
“I didn’t make a mistake,” he said.
Trump stated that he did not watch the entire clip before it was posted.
“I didn’t see the whole thing. I looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud in the machines, how crooked it is, and how disgusting it is.
“Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they look at the whole thing. But I guess somebody didn’t,” he said.
Speaking on whether he condemned the video’s content, Trump replied, “Of course I do.”
The video, which was posted late Thursday, promoted a conspiracy theory regarding voting machines used in the 2020 election and featured a racist image of the Obamas.
It stayed on Trump’s Truth Social account for approximately 12 hours until being deleted on Friday morning, despite broad bipartisan calls for its removal.
In an emailed message to reporters on Friday morning, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the tweet.
She said, “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.”
Leavitt added, “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
Hours after the statement was issued, the video was deleted from Trump’s official Truth Social account.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")
