GOP senator calls on Trump to 'apologize' for inappropriate Obama video: 'Racist context'

Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) suggested that President Donald Trump had made a "mistake" by posting a racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, but acknowledge that it was racist.

"Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this," Ricketts wrote Friday on X. "The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt first suggested that Trump's video showed "characters from the Lion King," even though the apes in the video did not appear in the movie.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) also left room for the possibility that Trump had made a "mistake" when he posted the video.

"The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered," Lawler said on Friday.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), however, admitted that he was "praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House."