President Donald Trump refused to apologize for a racist video that portrayed former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as apes. When asked whether he would apologize to the Obama couple for the ape video, Trump said, "No, I didn't do anything wrong." The video was released late on the 5th, remained online for nearly 12 hours, and was finally deleted by the White House after strong protests from bipartisan figures, including close allies of Trump.
Here is the conversation between Trump and journalists today (February 7) on Air Force One regarding this controversial video:
Reporter: "Can you say a few words to Americans who were offended by this video?"
Trump: "I didn't know about this beforehand. I mean, the video came out, that's it. I really don't have anything special to say.
All I can say is one thing - my message is: our country is no longer in that bad position as before. At that time, the United States became a laughingstock around the world.
Now, we are a respected country, more respected than ever before. If you go back to one and a half years ago, the United States was still being laughed at all over the world; now, we have gained respect around the world, possibly to an unprecedented extent.
I can even say it has never happened before. This is also true from an economic perspective. King Salman of Saudi Arabia, and leaders of other countries. In the past, no one thought the United States could rise again, let alone succeed. But within just one year, we became the most watched and hottest country in the world. Now, the United States is the most attention-grabbing country in the world, without a doubt. That's the message I want to convey."
Comment: Portraying the Obama couple as apes is the most despicable and typical racial discrimination metaphor targeting African Americans, not a simple political joke. The video came from Trump's social media account, stayed online for nearly 12 hours before being deleted, which constitutes a presidential-level dissemination of racist speech, seriously violating the anti-discrimination and political civilization bottom lines of American society. Trump's refusal to apologize with "didn't watch, didn't know, didn't do anything wrong" essentially condones racial hatred and evades administrative responsibility. Even his party allies strongly protested, showing how serious and controversial the issue is.
Trump deliberately avoided the core issue: when the reporter asked for a statement to those offended, Trump did not talk about the racial discrimination harm or respond to the apology request throughout the conversation, but instead talked about the "recovery of the United States' respect and economic rise," using performance narratives to completely shift the focus of public opinion, avoiding reflection and accountability for the racist behavior.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856440579720265/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.