President Trump’s retweet of a video that included a demonstrator yelling “white power” during protests in Florida set off a “five-alarm fire” in the White House on Sunday, NBC News reported.
Two unidentified White House officials told the network that the video remained on the president’s Twitter feed for more than three hours because he could not be reached. Trump was reportedly at his Virginia golf club and put his phone down.
Aides were also initially unable to reach deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino in an effort to delete the post, NBC News reported.
In the now-deleted tweet, Trump lauded Florida demonstrators shown in the video, adding: “Thank you to the great people of The Villages.”
“The Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats will Fall in the Fall. Corrupt Joe is shot. See you soon!!!” Trump posted.
The video Trump retweeted shows a clash between anti-Trump protesters along a street and pro-Trump demonstrators driving by in golf carts.
One demonstrator yelled “white power” within the first nine seconds of the video. The president’s post was deleted by 11:30 a.m.
“The president did not hear that phrase in that portion of the video, and when it was signaled to him that this was in there he took that tweet down,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told “Fox & Friends” on Monday.
White House spokesman Judd Deere also denied that the president heard the statement.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden blasted Trump over the tweet, sharing on Sunday: “We’re in a battle for the soul of the nation — and the President has picked a side.”
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the only Black Republican senator, told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he found the video “offensive.”
“We can play politics with it, or we can’t. I’m not going to,” he added.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment on NBC’s report.