politics
February 7, 2026
Trump shifts blame to aide as he refuses to apologize for racist video of Obamas
After first dismissing uproar over depiction of Obamas as apes, White House then said it was erroneously posted by staffer
TL;DR
- Donald Trump claimed responsibility for the decision to post a video depicting the Obamas as apes but blamed an unidentified staffer for the actual posting.
- The video, which invoked racist tropes, was shared on Trump's Truth Social account and later deleted.
- Trump refused to apologize, stating he did not make a mistake and would not fire the staffer involved.
- Speculation within Trump's orbit focused on aide Natalie Harp as the potential staffer responsible for posting the video.
- The White House initially defended the post before backtracking and attributing it to a staffer's error, a claim Trump repeated.
- The video was denounced as racist by Republican senator Tim Scott.
- Natalie Harp is described as a devoted aide with broad access to Trump, known for her loyalty and occasional poor judgment.
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