Cardinal Cupich asks Trump to apologise for offensive video + Update

Cardinal Cupich

Source: Archdiocese of Chicago

The Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blaise Cupich, has asked President Donald Trump to apologise for a "viciously racist" video posted on his Truth Social account. The final frames of the video, which appeared on President Trump's account on Thursday evening, depicted former US President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.

In his statement, (in English, Spanish and Polish) the Cardinal says:

"Portraying human beings as animals - less than human - is not new.

It was a common way in past centuries for politicians and others to demean immigrant groups as each arrived, the Chinese, Irish, Italians, Slavs, Jews, Latinos and so on. Cartoons, "news" articles, even theatrical productions carried the message that these "others" were worthy of ridicule.

It made it easier to turn a blind eye to their privation, pay them pitiful wages and mock their "foreign" religion even as the country needed their labor. It immunized the national conscience when we turned away shiploads of refugees, lynched thousands and doomed generations to poverty.

We tell ourselves that those days belong in the past - that even sharing that history is harmful to the fantasy of equality we strive to create.

A few days ago, we saw that in the White House such blatant racism is not merely a practice of the past. If the President intentionally approved the message containing viciously racist images, he should admit it. If he did not know of it originally, he should explain why he let his staff describe the public outcry over their transmission as fake outrage.

Either way he should apologize. Our shock is real. So is our outrage. Nothing less than an unequivocal apology - to the nation and to the persons demeaned - is acceptable.

And it must come immediately."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the video, describing the reaction to it as "fake outrage". It was later deleted, some twelve hours after being published.

Update

Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger has posted on X:

A recent post on Truth Social under President Donald Trump's name used a racist meme to depict former President Obama and his wife, Michelle. It is very disturbing that anyone, much less the President of the United States or his staff members, should see racist memes as humorous or appropriate expressions of political discourse. They are deeply offensive and must be condemned in the strongest terms.

I join my voice to the many calling for a public apology with full acceptance of responsibility, and I also bristle at claims from the White House that the rage many of us feel is "fake." Beyond the necessary apology, I also believe that we all must examine our conscience, individually and collectively. We need to recognize and acknowledge how prevalent racism continues to be in our society and commit ourselves to vigilance in counteracting its harm.

As Catholics, we believe that every person is made in the image and likeness of God. This sacred truth compels us to treat every human being with dignity, respect, and love. We must recommit ourselves to vigilance in counteracting the wounds caused by the evil of racism as truly we are called to be one human family.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians issued this statement:

'The Ancient Order of Hibernians condemns in the strongest possible terms the racist depiction of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama as apes that was shared from President Trump's social media account. This is not a political statement, but a moral one founded in our Irish history and Catholic faith.

We recognize this tactic because it was used against us as Irish Americans.

As an organization founded to combat attacks against Irish immigrants, we know intimately the weaponization of simian imagery. For generations, our ancestors were caricatured as apes in newspapers, political cartoons, and popular culture; portrayed as violent, primitive, and less than human. The influential cartoonist Thomas Nast, whose work appeared in Harper's Weekly throughout the latter half of the 19th century, repeatedly drew Irish immigrants with pronounced simian features equating them with violent primates. These depictions were used to justify discrimination, exclusion, and violence. They stripped our people of dignity and humanity.

The claim that this video was merely an "internet meme" or that critics were engaging in "fake outrage" is both morally bankrupt and historically ignorant. There is nothing lighthearted about reducing any people to apes. This imagery has been used for centuries as a tool of oppression, designed to dehumanize and justify subjugation. It is not humor; it is bigotry.

The subsequent walk-back, blaming an unnamed staffer and claiming the president was unaware, rings hollow. Leadership means accountability. As a leader, the President should be well aware that the captain of a ship is responsible for all who serve under him. When this content appeared on the president's account, the president bears responsibility, regardless of whom he empowered to press the button. The initial defense of this post by staffers as harmless reveals either a shocking ignorance of history or a willful disregard for human dignity.

UPDATES

Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger has posted on X:

A recent post on Truth Social under President Donald Trump's name used a racist meme to depict former President Obama and his wife, Michelle. It is very disturbing that anyone, much less the President of the United States or his staff members, should see racist memes as humorous or appropriate expressions of political discourse. They are deeply offensive and must be condemned in the strongest terms.

I join my voice to the many calling for a public apology with full acceptance of responsibility, and I also bristle at claims from the White House that the rage many of us feel is "fake." Beyond the necessary apology, I also believe that we all must examine our conscience, individually and collectively. We need to recognize and acknowledge how prevalent racism continues to be in our society and commit ourselves to vigilance in counteracting its harm.

As Catholics, we believe that every person is made in the image and likeness of God. This sacred truth compels us to treat every human being with dignity, respect, and love. We must recommit ourselves to vigilance in counteracting the wounds caused by the evil of racism as truly we are called to be one human family.

Ancient Order of Hibernians

The following statement was released by the Ancient Order of Hibernians condemning the racist depiction of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama circulated via President Trump's social media account.

"The Ancient Order of Hibernians condemns in the strongest possible terms the racist depiction of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama as apes that was shared from President Trump's social media account. This is not a political statement, but a moral one founded in our Irish history and Catholic faith.

We recognize this tactic because it was used against us as Irish Americans.

As an organization founded to combat attacks against Irish immigrants, we know intimately the weaponization of simian imagery. For generations, our ancestors were caricatured as apes in newspapers, political cartoons, and popular culture; portrayed as violent, primitive, and less than human. The influential cartoonist Thomas Nast, whose work appeared in Harper's Weekly throughout the latter half of the 19th century, repeatedly drew Irish immigrants with pronounced simian features equating them with violent primates. These depictions were used to justify discrimination, exclusion, and violence. They stripped our people of dignity and humanity.

The claim that this video was merely an "internet meme" or that critics were engaging in "fake outrage" is both morally bankrupt and historically ignorant. There is nothing lighthearted about reducing any people to apes. This imagery has been used for centuries as a tool of oppression, designed to dehumanize and justify subjugation. It is not humor; it is bigotry.

The subsequent walk-back, blaming an unnamed staffer and claiming the president was unaware, rings hollow. Leadership means accountability. As a leader, the President should be well aware that the captain of a ship is responsible for all who serve under him. When this content appeared on the president's account, the president bears responsibility, regardless of whom he empowered to press the button. The initial defense of this post by staffers as harmless reveals either a shocking ignorance of history or a willful disregard for human dignity.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians is a nonpartisan organization. We do not endorse political parties or candidates. But we cannot-and will not-remain silent when any human being is dehumanized through the racist imagery that once targeted our own community.

An apology is owed. Not for political expediency, but because it is right. The dehumanizing of people as apes was wrong in the 19th century, it certainly as no place in the 21st.

We call on all people of conscience, regardless of political affiliation, to reject such dehumanization wherever it appears and whoever perpetrates it."

is a nonpartisan organization. We do not endorse political parties or candidates. But we cannot-and will not-remain silent when any human being is dehumanized through the racist imagery that once targeted our own community.

An apology is owed. Not for political expediency, but because it is right. The dehumanizing of people as apes was wrong in the 19th century, it certainly as no place in the 21st.

We call on all people of conscience, regardless of political affiliation, to reject such dehumanization wherever it appears and whoever perpetrates it.'

LINK

Archdiocese of Chicago Statements: www.archchicago.org/statements