A post by President Donald J. Trump on Truth Social had the Delaware County Council calling out racism and bigotry. (Image courtesy of Truth Social)
The controversy over a racist video posted by President Donald Trump last week has continued into this week, generating responses from Vice President JD Vance and even the Delaware County Council.
“President Trump’s decision late last week to release a video depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys was blatantly racist, dehumanizing, and goes against every aspect of citizenship,” the Delaware County Council wrote in a Feb. 10 statement.
Trump posted the video on his Truth Social account Feb. 5 but deleted the post 12 hours later following considerable backlash. He then downplayed the incident, telling reporters that he only saw the first part of the since-deleted video that focused on debunked claims about the 2020 election – not the racist segment near the end. Multiple media outlets then reported that the White House said a staffer made the post erroneously.
As furor over the post continued to simmer, however, Vance on Feb. 11 took to Trump’s defense when speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force Two during a foreign trip to Azerbaijan.
Vance reportedly said the incident was “not a real controversy,” adding that “we have much, much more real problems to focus on."
The Delaware County Council, however, feels otherwise.
“The decision to post such a video is an act of extreme bigotry. The choice to blame the action on a staff member is an act of cowardice. Although this is what we have come to expect from this administration, it is shocking and cannot be normalized,” the council wrote.
The council also noted that February marks the 100th year in which the country has recognized Black History Month.
“If America is ever to reach its highest ideals, it will have to do so by speaking out against this kind of behavior, and we cannot stay silent when racist slop is used to denigrate political opponents and demean African-Americans,” said the council’s statement.
Democrats have held unanimous control of the five-member Delaware County Council since 2019.
