PRESIDENT Donald Trump has tweeted approvingly of a video showing one of his supporters chanting “white power”, a racist slogan associated with white supremacists.
Moments into the clip, a man driving a golf cart displaying pro-Trump signs and flags shouts “white power” more than once. It is then repeated by an anti-Trump protester who says: “There you go, white power, did you hear that?”
The White House said the president had not heard “the one statement” on the video.
“Thank you to the great people of The Villages,” Trump tweeted.
The video appeared to have been taken at The Villages, a Florida retirement community, and showed rival demonstrations between Trump supporters and opponents.
The video also shows anti-Trump protesters shouting “Nazi”, “racist”, and other profanities at the Trump supporters.
“There’s no question” that Trump should not have retweeted the video and “he should just take it down” Senator Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, told CNN.
Shortly afterwards, Trump deleted the tweet that shared the video.
White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement that “President Trump is a big fan of The Villages. He did not hear the one statement made on the video. What he did see was tremendous enthusiasm from his many supporters.”
Trump’s tenure in office has appeared to have emboldened white supremacist and far-right nationalist groups, some of whom have embraced his presidency. In 2017, Trump infmaously responded to clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia between white nationalists and counter-protesters by saying there were “very fine people on both sides”.
The president’s decision to highlight a video featuring a racist slogan comes amid a national reckoning over race following the death of George Floyd.
Protests against police brutality and bias in law enforcement have occurred in every state across the country.
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