Hours after refusing to apologize for a racist video posted to his Truth Social account, President Donald Trump hadn’t let go.
He spent final weekend complaining to allies about Republicans who had condemned the video depicting the Obamas as apes, questioning the lawmakers’ loyalty and vowing penalties, sources acquainted with his feedback informed NCS.
The president railed in opposition to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott — the only Black Republican senator and chair of the Senate GOP’s marketing campaign arm — all through the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, arguing one in all his prime congressional allies was out of line to name his White House racist, the sources mentioned.
“The president felt he could’ve handled that matter privately,” a senior Trump administration official informed NCS of Scott. “He was like, ‘We work together all the time. He didn’t need to comment publicly.’”
Trump had even stronger phrases for Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, one of many sources recalled, utilizing expletives to denounce her and declaring that she was lifeless to him.
Britt’s workplace slammed that account as “fake news” and touted her robust working relationship with the president, whereas the White House praised her as “an incredible ally” whom the president has “great respect” for. Scott’s workplace declined to remark.
But the episode, which marks one of many starkest GOP breaks from the president forward of the 2026 midterms, additionally displays how such moments have pissed off the commander in chief.
The White House’s elimination of the video, which it had initially defended final week, got here practically 12 hours after it had been on-line — and solely after the blowback from some prime Republicans.
Just days later, a handful of GOP lawmakers bucked Trump on a key tariff vote, prompting him to threaten that anybody who votes in opposition to his signature financial coverage will “suffer the consequences” in primaries. And late final 12 months, Trump, below GOP stress, was compelled to again a vote to compel the discharge of the Jeffrey Epstein recordsdata — a difficulty he has mentioned the nation ought to transfer on from.
The White House argued that Trump stays “the unequivocal leader” of the GOP, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying in an announcement that he’s “committed to ensuring Republicans remain united against the Democrats who, if given the chance, will destroy our country again through open borders, allowing non-citizens to vote in elections, and horrific economic policy.”
But final Friday morning, it was Republican lawmakers attempting to set the tone for his or her social gathering by forcefully talking out in opposition to Trump’s late night time publish.
As the video was first gaining traction, Scott — who speaks to the president recurrently — privately reached out, a supply acquainted with the matter informed NCS. Unable to get ahold of him, he took to X.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it,” the senator wrote.
That received Trump’s consideration. He later known as Scott — with whom he has a detailed private relationship — and informed the South Carolina Republican he was planning to have his crew take away the publish. Just earlier than midday, the White House mentioned a staffer had erroneously posted the video and it was deleted. As he flew to Mar-a-Lago that night time, Trump informed reporters he hadn’t seen the ultimate frames of the video depicting the Obamas and blamed an unnamed staffer for posting it. “I didn’t make a mistake,” he mentioned.
The president, in addition to lots of Trump’s prime advisers, have privately asserted that Scott’s response is what led to the story gaining nationwide consideration, the sources mentioned.
But Scott was hardly alone in condemning the video. Britt, who’s working carefully with the White House to attempt to fund the Department of Homeland Security, applauded the publish’s elimination final week, saying it “should have never been posted to begin with, and is not who we are as a nation.”
The open criticism caught the eye of far-right activist Laura Loomer, who introduced Trump with printouts of the lawmakers’ statements, one of many sources acquainted mentioned. Loomer, who has beforehand succeeded in riling up the president over important feedback made by his perceived allies, posted on X that she was “compiling a list” of Republicans who “attacked” Trump with “false accusations of racism.”
Notably, a number of the senators Trump and Loomer have been livid with — together with Scott and Britt — have been additionally in Palm Beach that weekend for the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s winter retreat. Trump didn’t meet with the group, however he did invite a choose few — reminiscent of Sens. Eric Schmitt and Lindsey Graham, who had not criticized him over the video — to hitch him for golf and attend his Super Bowl social gathering.
Britt’s workplace defended her assist for Trump in an announcement.
“This is classic fake news by NCS. Senator Britt has a 100% voting record with President Trump and remains one of his strongest allies in the Senate. Just this week, Senator Britt had a tremendous conversation with President Trump about her leadership as she fights to defend our incredible ICE officers, pass the SAVE America Act, and advance the president’s policies to make America affordable again. Any narrative suggesting otherwise is not only misleading, it is flat out false,” the assertion mentioned.
While Trump had harsh phrases for Republicans who spoke out in opposition to him, he’s been much less important of the unnamed staffer whom the White House blamed for the debacle, telling reporters on Thursday that he has no plans to self-discipline the particular person.
The president usually posts personally on Truth Social — notably late at night time and early within the morning — and he usually personally re-posts others’ posts, sources acquainted with his social media use beforehand informed NCS.
But a couple of shut aides — together with Natalie Harp, who will typically kind out posts which might be dictated to her, and Dan Scavino, a deputy chief of workers who ran Trump’s social media accounts throughout his first time period — even have entry. Harp and Scavino have been noticed on Sunday sitting beside the president throughout his Super Bowl social gathering. Harp additionally boarded Marine One with the president on Friday as he traveled to Fort Bragg.
“No, I haven’t [taken action against them],” Trump mentioned Thursday, with out naming anybody. “That was a video on, as you know, voter fraud, a fairly long video, and they had a little piece, and it had to do with the Lion King. It’s been very well, it’s been shown all over the place long before that was posted.”