Washington. President Donald Trump deleted a racist social media post depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as primates in a jungle on Friday, following backlash from both Republicans and Democrats.

Trump, however, said he would not apologize. “I didn't make a mistake,” he said.

The post, published Thursday night, was blamed on a staffer after widespread criticism from civil rights leaders and veteran Republican senators for its offensive treatment of the nation’s first Black president and first lady. The deletion came hours after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the uproar as “fake outrage.” The White House later said a staffer had posted the video erroneously.

The clip was part of a flurry of activity on Trump’s Truth Social account amplifying his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, despite multiple courts and his first-term attorney general finding no evidence of systemic fraud.

Trump has a long history of personal attacks on the Obamas and incendiary rhetoric. His record includes promoting the “birther” lie about Obama’s birthplace and making derogatory statements about majority-Black countries.

The post came in the first week of Black History Month, days after Trump issued a proclamation praising “the contributions of Black Americans to our national greatness” and affirming “the American principles of liberty, justice, and equality.” An Obama spokeswoman said the former president had no response.

Nearly all of the 62-second clip came from a conservative video alleging vote tampering in the 2020 election. Only at the 60-second mark does a brief scene show two primates with the Obamas’ faces superimposed. Leavitt described it as “an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.”

Trump said Friday night aboard Air Force One that he shared the video because of its claims about election fraud. “I liked the beginning. I saw it and just passed it on, and I guess probably nobody reviewed the end of it,” he said. Asked whether he condemned the video’s racism, he replied, “Of course I do.”

The post prompted unusually strong criticism across the political spectrum. Senate Republicans Tim Scott and Roger Wicker called it unacceptable, while Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke said it reflected a “toxic and racist climate within the White House.” NAACP President Derrick Johnson called the video “utterly despicable” and accused Trump of trying to distract from economic concerns and the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Civil rights leaders noted the long history of racist depictions of Black Americans as animals, dating back to the 18th century. Obama himself had been targeted by similar imagery and attacks during his presidency.

Mark Burns, a Black Trump supporter and pastor, said he advised the president to fire the staffer responsible and publicly condemn the post. “He knows this is wrong, offensive, and unacceptable,” Burns posted.

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