A top aide to President Trump apologized for sharing a video of a chainsaw-wielding man who yelled the N-word at protesters.
“I deeply apologize and I retweeted without watching the full video. I deleted the tweet,” Mercedes Schlapp told Politico. “I would never knowingly promote the use of that word. This is time for healing the nation and not division.”
On Saturday, Schlapp, a senior adviser to Trump’s reelection campaign, shared a tweet that praised a man in Texas as he yelled the N-word and chased away protesters with a chainsaw.
“That’s how to do it,” the tweet she shared said.
She retweeted another account that muted the racist slur after Politico contacted her about the tweet. After the story published, she removed both tweets from her account and apologized.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets across the country to protest police brutality and racial injustice after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes as he pleaded for his life.
Trump, who has called for the military to quell the protests, has been criticized for his handling of the demonstrations.
The incident shared by Schlapp took place in McAllen, Texas, where protesters had gathered downtown.
“Go home!” the man with a chainsaw yelled. “Don’t let those f—ing n—–s out there fool you!”
The man, identified as Daniel Peña, was arrested Friday afternoon.
