Trump declines to apologize for racist Obamas social media post

Former Vice President Kamala Harris denounced the response from the White House claiming that the racist video deleted from Trump's social media account was "erroneously" posted by a staffer.

"No one believes this cover up from the White House, especially since they originally defended the post," Harris wrote in a post on X.

"We are all clear-eyed about who Donald Trump is and what he believes," she added.

The president said earlier tonight that he has no plans to apologize for the post, but did say “of course” he condemns the racist parts of the video.

“No, I didn’t make a mistake,” he said on Air Force One tonight, adding that he didn’t see the full video. “I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine.”

President Donald Trump today removed a racist video he posted to social media late last night that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, but said he won’t apologize for posting it.

The roughly minute-long video focused on false election fraud claims about the 2020 presidential election, but at the end it suddenly flashed to a clip of the Obamas’ faces superimposed on the heads of cartoon apes as the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens played in the background.

Speaking to reporters tonight, Trump said “of course” he condemns the racist parts of the video, while noting he has no plans to apologize.

“No, I didn’t make a mistake,” he said on Air Force One, adding that he didn’t see the full video. “I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine.”

Read the full story here.

Trump spoke to reporters about low crime and prices earlier tonight.

The president touted that the Dow had reached 50,000 "three years ahead of schedule" and that "murders are down and crime is down," as he approached reporters while departing the White House earlier tonight.

Asked about the status of the SAVE Act and whether he'd spoken to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., about using the filibuster, Trump said, "I'd love to use the filibuster. The SAVE Act is very important."

"I mean, if you look at it, no mail-in voting, and you have to have proof of citizenship. Everybody wants it," Trump continued.

The president also responded to a question about lowering prices, telling reporters "Prices are way down, energy is way down."

"I think we have the best economy, maybe we've ever had," Trump added.

The president then boarded Air Force One. He did not answer questions regarding his social media post depicting the Obamas as apes before boarding the aircraft.

The Department of Homeland Security condemned New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's executive order today that reaffirms the city's sanctuary laws.

"Mamdani will make New Yorkers less safe as a direct result of this policy," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

The mayor's executive order calls for the city's municipal agencies to comply with existing sanctuary city laws, including to prohibit ICE from entering city property, like schools, shelters and hospitals, without a judicial warrant. It also directed the New York Police Department and other public-facing agencies to undergo new training on sanctuary restrictions.

McLaughlin said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE leadership want Mamdani to "agree to release criminals in New York City’s custody to ICE before they are released back onto the Big Apple’s streets to victimize and prey on more Americans."

The Department of Homeland Security’s general counsel warned the agency’s independent watchdog that agency Secretary Kristi Noem asserts that she has the power to unilaterally kill its investigations, according to a new letter sent by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., to Noem.

The DHS inspector general’s office states that its mission is to “provide objective, independent oversight of DHS programs and operations and to promote excellence, integrity, and accountability within DHS.”

In a meeting with DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, Duckworth learned that DHS general counsel communicated multiple times with the OIG to “remind them” that Noem has the power to kill investigations by his department, according to the letter obtained by NBC News.

Read the full story here.

The House Rules Committee on Tuesday will take up Republican-backed legislation that would overhaul elections nationwide, setting it up for a potential floor vote as early as Wednesday.

The House previously passed a bill known as the SAVE Act, but Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced an updated version on Jan. 29 known as the SAVE America Act.

According to a news release from the two lawmakers, the new portion would require voters to present an eligible photo identification document before casting a ballot. The measure also includes provisions from the House-passed SAVE Act: requiring states to obtain in-person proof of citizenship before registering someone to vote and requiring states to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., confirmed on Fox Business yesterday that the new bill would get a vote next week in the House.

The Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District remains too close to call, but one thing is certain after yesterday's special election: the massive spending by a prominent pro-Israel PAC backfired.

The United Democracy Project, a super PAC that has received tens of millions of dollars from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and has spent heavily in Democratic primaries over the years, spent more than $2 million to cut down former Rep. Tom Malinowski. Now, the former congressman is narrowly trailing progressive activist Analilia Mejia in the special Democratic primary with more votes still left to count.

The ads may have hurt Malinowski, but they also fractured the establishment vote in a crowded field — with Mejia lying in wait.

That means whether it’s Malinowski or Mejia, who has been critical of Israel’s conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza, one of them is likely to be the district’s next member of Congress, in a significant political blow to those pro-Israel groups.

Read the full story here.

In a series of posts on X, former President Bill Clinton again pushed House Republicans to hold public hearings about the Epstein files as some GOP lawmakers seek for the former president and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to testify as part of the House Oversight Committee's investigation of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"I have called for the full release of the Epstein files. I have provided a sworn statement of what I know. And just this week, I’ve agreed to appear in person before the committee. But it’s still not enough for Republicans on the House Oversight Committee," the former president wrote on X.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, speaks during a hearing at the U.S. Capitol in January. Win McNamee / Getty Images file

"I will not sit idly as they use me as a prop in a closed-door kangaroo court by a Republican Party running scared. If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about," he added in another post.

Clinton and his wife have been in a standoff with GOP members of the House Oversight Committee for weeks about whether to testify publicly or behind closed doors. Photos of Bill Clinton appeared in earlier releases of the Epstein files but he has denied all wrongdoing.

Members of Congress will be able to begin reviewing the unredacted version of the Department of Justice’s files on Jeffrey Epstein on Monday morning, according to two sources familiar with the DOJ’s plans.

The review process will take place in person at the DOJ, according to a letter to members of Congress obtained by NBC News. The members will be able to review the material on computers at the DOJ offices but not review the physical documents themselves.

The letter states that members can review the documents in person, provided they give the DOJ 24 hours’ notice. The option at this point is only available to members of Congress — and not their staff. They may take notes, but cannot bring in any electronic devices, the letter said.

The review will only be of the 3 million files currently available to the public, not the extensive trove of more than 6 million documents in total that the DOJ says it has in its possession.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche promised members of Congress access to the material when he announced the release of all the documents officials planned to make public last Friday.

Read the full story here.

Trump is expected to sign an executive order this afternoon that would quadruple the amount of beef imported into the United States from Argentina, according to two White House officials. The order comes after the U.S. and Argentina signed a trade deal on Thursday to slash tariffs between the two countries. 

Workers at a meatpacking plant in Buenos Aires in December. Luis Robayo / AFP via Getty Images file

This is expected to be one of several orders the president will sign today, NBC News is told. White House officials did not preview the other orders.

When Trump first floated the idea — designed, according to the president, to keep beef prices down in the U.S. — Republicans on Capitol Hill pushed back on the administration’s plans to import beef from the South American country at a time when many American farmers are struggling.

Ranchers also pushed back on the administration’s plans, from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to the National Farmers Union.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., posted on X at the time, encouraging the White House “to focus on trade deals that benefit our ag producers — not imports that will do more harm than good.” Other Republicans, like Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told NBC News that the move was not putting America first.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., plans to introduce legislation next week to prohibit Trump from pocketing money from an IRS lawsuit he filed last month, according to spokesperson Ryan Carey.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., at the U.S. Capitol in Washington last month. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP - Getty Images

Wyden and others have raised questions about Trump's lawsuit — which seeks $10 billion in damages over the leak of his tax records in his first term — against the government he oversees.

He and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., co-authored a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week expressing concern that rather than fight Trump's lawsuit on behalf of their agencies, Cabinet members "intend not only to capitulate to Trump, but coordinate with him in this brazen theft from the American people."

Trump has said he will give any taxpayer dollars he receives from the lawsuit to charity, including in his recent interview with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Llamas. Though he has also joked with a crowd of supporters: "Maybe I should keep the money."

Wyden's new bill would propose a 100% tax on any litigation proceeds and settlement in the case, Carey said, meaning Trump would have no windfall to give to charity.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said in a post on X he will not run for re-election.

Amodei said he looks forward to finishing his term in Congress and that serving Nevada was the honor of his lifetime.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in December. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images file

"After 15 years of service, I believe it is the right time for Nevada and myself to pass the torch," Amodei wrote.

Amodei is the 31st House Republican to announce their retirement from Congress, according to the House Press Gallery.

More Republicans continue to speak out against a video posted on Trump’s Truth Social account that depicts the Obamas as apes, even after it was removed from the president's account.

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, described the video as “blatantly racist and inexcusable,” saying on X that it should never have been posted or left up for so long. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., also said in an X post that the video should have never been posted, adding it is “not who we are as a nation.”

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., demanded a “clear and unequivocal apology” from Trump.

“Whether intentional or careless, this post is a grave failure of judgment and is absolutely unacceptable from anyone—most especially from the President of the United States,” Fitzpatrick wrote in an X post.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, also demanded Trump apologize for the racist imagery. 

The president yesterday announced the launch of TrumpRx.gov, a new self-pay prescription drug website that offers discounted cash prices on 43 brand-name medications.

Trump Launches Discount Prescription Drug Site, TrumpRx.gov

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The racist video of the Obamas that Trump shared on Truth Social late last night has been taken down following a drumbeat of highly critical responses from Republican lawmakers.

A White House official told NBC News: "A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had initially defended the post as "an internet meme video."

"NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Llamas asked Trump during an interview earlier this week about some of the election conspiracy theories he has posted to social media. Trump seemed to wave off the issue, saying he didn’t actually believe everything he'd posted. "Sometimes I will retweet," he said of his posting habits. "I’ll retruth."

Racist video of the Obamas removed from Trump's Truth Social page

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Construction of the Gateway Tunnel project under the Hudson River to connect New York and New Jersey was halted today due to a pause in federal funding.

The pause in building results in the immediate loss of nearly 1,000 jobs, according to a press release from the project, and an extended pause could put about 11,000 construction jobs at risk.

Construction workers at the Hudson Gateway Tunnel project in Manhattan, in October. Spencer Platt / Getty Images file

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., called for a restoration in funding in a video posted on X, saying that the tunnel would lead to improvements in daily commutes and a greater efficiency in the transfer of goods.

The administration halted funding for the $16 billion project when the government shut down last fall. But despite the shutdown ending in November and government funding packages passing this week, the administration has not released the funds.

NBC News reported yesterday that the Trump administration asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for Washington’s Dulles International Airport and New York’s Penn Station to be named after President Donald Trump in exchange for releasing the federal funds required for the Gateway Tunnel project, multiple sources told NBC News.

Vice President JD Vance issued an endorsement today in a downballot race in his native Ohio, backing former state Rep. Jay Edwards in a Republican primary for state treasurer.

“Ohio needs leaders who will fight for working families and stand with President Trump’s America First agenda,” Vance wrote in a post on X that pledged the vice president’s “full support.” 

Rep. Jay Edwards, at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, in 2023.  Samantha Hendrickson / AP file

“Jay and I are both sons of Appalachia. We know what it’s like to come from places the elites ignore — and we know the strength, pride, and values that built Ohio,” Vance added. “Jay has never forgotten where he came from, and he’s spent his career standing up for Southeast Ohio and putting hardworking people first.”

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle sharply denounced Trump this morning after he shared a video on Truth Social last night that included a clip depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.

Only a few Republicans criticized the president, while many Democrats rebuked him, as well as other GOP colleagues for not speaking out.

“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House," Tim Scott, of South Carolina, the only Black Republican senator, wrote on X. "The President should remove it.”

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who faces a competitive re-election race, wrote on X, “The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered.”

Secretary of State Rubio is calling for a three-way arms control agreement between the U.S., Russia and China following the expiration of New START.

“A new era requires a new approach. Not the same old START, but something new,” Rubio wrote yesterday on Substack. “A treaty that reflects that the United States could soon face not one, but two, nuclear peers in Russia and China.”

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which limited U.S. and Russian missile and warhead deployments, expired on Thursday after President Trump allowed the agreement to lapse. Probal Rashid / LightRocket via Getty Images

Thomas DiNanno, undersecretary of state for arms control, reiterated the call for a treaty between the three nuclear powers in public remarks at a disarmament conference in Geneva yesterday, where Russia and China were present. DiNanno also accused China of conducting a secret nuclear test in 2020.

“China has conducted nuclear explosive tests, including preparing for tests with designated yields in the hundreds of tons … China has used decoupling — a method to decrease the effectiveness of seismic monitoring — to hide its activities from the world,” Dinanno wrote on X. “China conducted one such yield producing nuclear test on June 22, 2020.”

Trump shared a video clip on his Truth Social account late last night that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.

The roughly minute-long video otherwise focused on false election fraud claims about the 2020 presidential election, but at the very end it suddenly flashed to a clip of the Obamas’ faces superimposed on the heads of cartoon apes as the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens played in the background.

The imagery, which evokes longstanding racist tropes against Black people, comes during Black History Month, which honors the accomplishments and contributions of Black Americans. Barack Obama made U.S. history as the first Black president.

A White House official responded to NBC News’ request for comment Friday morning with a statement: “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”

Read the full story here.

It would seem a surefire path to a payout.

A sitting president files suit demanding $10 billion in damages from a federal government he oversees, alleging he’s been wronged in his personal capacity. That scenario would appear to give him final say on whether he walks away with a settlement and just how big it should be.

As Trump describes it, any taxpayer money that he gets from the suit that he, his two oldest sons and the Trump Organization filed last month against the IRS and the Treasury Department would go to worthy causes.

“And any money that I win, I’ll give it to charity, 100% to charities, charities that will be approved by government or whatever,” the president said Wednesday in an interview with “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas.

If things get to that point. Any number of developments in and out of the courtroom could sidetrack a settlement arising from Trump’s complaint, legal experts, lawmakers and ethics specialists told NBC News.

Read the full story here.

There’s no official winner yet, but the Democratic primary for the special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District already amounts to a political earthquake in the state. 

In an improbable twist that not long ago might have been altogether impossible, a progressive activist and organizer backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., leads the vote count. Analilia Mejia is slightly ahead of former Rep. Tom Malinowski, who represented the neighboring 7th District for two terms and relocated in an effort to relaunch his political career. 

Yes, it’s hardly unheard of in this political moment for a left-wing insurgent like Mejia to score an upset in a Democratic contest. But what makes her potential victory so remarkable is where it may be happening, if she holds her lead in this too-close-to-call race.

Read the full story here.

Two Democrats who participated in a video that urged members of the military and the intelligence community not to follow illegal orders are refusing to comply with an investigation by the Justice Department. 

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., left, and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., are refusing to comply with an investigation by the Justice Department.  CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images; Politico via AP

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said in a post yesterday that she sent a letter informing Attorney General Pam Bondi and the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, that she would not comply with the DOJ’s inquiries or their request that she sit for an interview on the video. 

Slotkin said that the Trump administration is “purposely using physical and legal intimidation to get me to shut up.” 

“But more importantly, they’re using that intimidation to deter others from speaking out against their administration. The intimidation is the point, and I’m not going to go along with that,” Slotkin said in her post. 

Top administration officials do not yet have clear guidance on what Trump would hope to accomplish with military action in Iran as U.S. and Iranian officials plan to meet today to try to avoid a war, according to two U.S. officials.

While Trump has left open the possibility of pursuing regime change in Iran, the two U.S. officials said he has not yet settled on precisely what his objectives for any possible military action would be. They also said there is no clear road map or consensus within the administration over what role the U.S. would play after any such operation.

Asked Wednesday in an interview with NBC News whether Iran’s supreme leader should be worried, Trump said: “I would say he should be very worried, yeah. He should be.”

Read the full story here.

The Trump administration asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for the Washington region’s Dulles International Airport and New York’s Penn Station to be named after Trump in exchange for releasing the federal funds required to build a long-delayed tunnel between New York and New Jersey, multiple sources told NBC News.

Penn Station in Manhattan, last month. Adam Gray / Bloomberg via Getty Images

The administration halted funding for the $16 billion Gateway project at the start of the federal government shutdown last fall. But even though the shutdown ended in November and the full appropriations packages passed this week, the administration has yet to release the money.

Read the full story here.

Days after a tense gathering in Washington, D.C., laid bare growing acrimony between Trump administration and state election officials, the FBI invited those same officials to discuss “preparations” for the midterm elections. 

The invitation, which was first reported by Crooked Media and confirmed to NBC News by an election official who received it, is scheduled for Feb. 25 and will include the FBI, the Justice and Homeland Security departments, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Election Assistance Commission. 

Read the full story here.

The Democratic primary race to fill a vacant, safely blue House seat in New Jersey is too close to call last night, NBC News projects.

The campaign between progressive activist Analilia Mejia and former Rep. Tom Malinowski turned into an expensive competition between interest groups, political figures and cash-flush super PACs hoping to shape the future of the Democratic Party one district at a time.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill's ascension to higher office left behind a crowded special primary for her old congressional seat. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Getty Images

Mejia and Malinowski are locked in a tight race for the nomination in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. Mejia had 28.7% of the vote to Malinowski’s 28.0% with 91% of the expected vote counted late yesterday.

The Democratic winner is set to face Republican Joe Hathaway, who is unopposed for his nomination, in an April 16 general election.

Read the full story here.