The White House said Sunday that President Trump did not hear someone yell “white power” in a retweet now removed from a pro-Trump rally in Florida.
“He did not hear the only statement made in the video. What he did see was tremendous enthusiasm from his many supporters, ”said White House spokesman Judd Deere.
The president retweeted the video early Sunday morning showing a parade of Trump supporters in golf carts outfitted with “Trump 2020” and “Make America Great Again” signs at The Villages, a retirement community in central Florida nearby from Orlando.
“Thanks to the great people at The Villages,” the president posted alongside the clip. “The radical left does nothing Democrats will fall in the fall. Corrupt Joe is shot. See you soon!!!”
At the beginning of the approximately two-minute video, a protester yells, “Raise your white voice.”
A man in a golf cart responds by yelling, “White power.”
The video also shows anti-Trump protesters, who can also be heard shouting “Nazis,” “racists,” and “fk Trump.”
The White House said in its statement that Trump is a “great admirer of The Villages.”
The tweet had been removed by noon.
Senator Tim Scott, the only black Republican senator, previously said the president should not have retweeted the video.
“There’s no question I shouldn’t have retweeted it and should just delete it,” said Scott, of South Carolina, on CNN’s “State of the Union”.
“Everything was offensive, certainly the comments about the white power were offensive. No doubt.
The golf cart rally was held to celebrate Trump’s 74th birthday on June 14, according to The Villages Daily Sun.
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