Washington– President Donald Trump hosted a White House reception for Black History Month on Wednesday, less than two weeks after he sparked bipartisan outrage by posting a racist video on social media depicting exes. President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle ObamaLike primates in the jungle.
Trump on Wednesday made no mention of the video, which he deleted after widespread backlash, but said he would not apologize for posting it. He also did not mention Barack Obama, the country’s first black president, but he talked about other black Americans who made history.
“We celebrate Black History Month. We honor the memory of those who came before us by continuing their legacy,” he said.
Trump has named prominent Black Americans among his supporters, including boxer Mike Tyson, whom Trump praised for defending him against accusations of racism, and rapper Nicki Minaj, who praised her complexion as “so beautiful” while commenting on the length of her nails.
The Republican president brought on stage several members of his administration, including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner and White House clemency czar Alice Marie Johnson.
“As you look out at this sea of black Americans, this president hears you. This president cares about you. Don’t let anyone tell you that this president here, Donald Trump, is not for black America,” Johnson said. “Because it is.”
Trump listed ways in which he said his policies have benefited black Americans, including a law he signed last year to eliminate federal income taxes on tips and his deployment of National Guard troops to “restore safety” to cities with large black populations, such as Washington, New Orleans and Memphis, Tennessee.
The reception came a day after Trump said in another social media post that he had been “falsely and consistently called a racist by the scoundrels and lunatics of the radical left,” in a message meant to honor the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died Tuesday.
Asked about the post, White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said earlier Wednesday: “There is so much more to what this president has done for all Americans, regardless of race. He has been falsely labeled and smeared as a racist.”
Trump has long recognized Black History Month as president, but his policies and rhetoric while in office have often contradicted celebrations of diversity and the contributions of Black Americans.
Trump targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that have helped many Black Americans find jobs in both the federal government and a variety of private industries over the past several decades. He has called DEI programs “discriminatory,” lobbied to root them out in government and put pressure on the private sector to do the same.
At the same time, Trump has portrayed himself as a champion of historically black colleges and universities. The White House on Wednesday highlighted the Trump administration’s move last year to direct $500 million to black colleges. The one-time increase came largely from federal money taken from colleges that serve large shares of Hispanic students. The award for black colleges came days after the Education Department withdrew $350 million from other grant programs targeting colleges with certain percentages of students from Hispanics and other minority groups. The Trump administration has said these grant programs are unconstitutional.
Trump began his second term by claiming that some of the lessons of African American history are intended to indoctrinate people to hate the country. He issued an executive order to “Restore Truth and Reason to American History,” which the administration used to purge historical information from national parks that “inappropriately disparages Americans past or living,” including Signs of black history.
Shortly after beginning his second term, Trump issued a proclamation recognizing February as Black History Month for the Department of Defense He was announcing That official resources will It is no longer used to celebrate cultural awareness Months.
The white house Black History Month reception last year It was also held in the wake of another Executive order Which ended the federal government’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
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Associated Press writers Colleen Binkley in Washington and Graham Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma, contributed to this report.