{"id":995,"date":"2026-02-08T10:22:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T10:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/?p=995"},"modified":"2026-02-08T10:22:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T10:22:43","slug":"the-politics-of-never-saying-sorry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/995\/the-politics-of-never-saying-sorry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Politics of Never Saying \u201cSorry\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"President<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all met them. The boss who blames the intern for their own mistake. The friend who says, \u201cI\u2019m sorry you felt that way,\u201d instead of \u201cI was wrong.\u201d Psychologists say this behavior often comes from deep insecurity – some people feel that admitting a single mistake is like admitting they<\/em> are a mistake. To them, \u201csorry\u201d isn\u2019t accountability – it\u2019s surrender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see the struggle for this word everywhere in our culture. Justin Bieber<\/strong> turned it into a global anthem with his song \u201cSorry,\u201d<\/strong> practically begging for a second chance to own his mistakes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI know you know that I made those mistakes maybe once or twice \/ And by once or twice I mean maybe a couple a hundred times… Is it too late now to say sorry? \/ Yeah, I know that I let you down.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Taylor Swift<\/strong> did the same in \u201cBack to December,\u201d<\/strong> describing the literal pride she had to swallow just to say the words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cSo this is me swallowing my pride \/ Standing in front of you saying I’m sorry for that night \/ And I go back to December all the time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Even in pop music, we recognize that apologizing is a sign of growth and maturity. Yet, in the highest halls of power, we are watching a different strategy: one that treats a refusal to apologize as a form of armor.<\/strong> In this world, the “non-apology” is used to maintain a facade of invincibility. It ensures that a leader never has to cede a single inch of moral ground – even when the mistake is as blatant as a racist caricature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a strategy. An awful one.<\/strong> And right now, we\u2019re watching it used to mask a blatant return to dehumanizing racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cOops\u201d That Wasn\u2019t<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Late Thursday night, at 11:44 PM, a 62-second video was posted to President Trump\u2019s social media account on Truth Social<\/em>. For 60 seconds, the clip focused on 2020 election conspiracy theories. But in the final two seconds<\/strong>, a separate meme was spliced in: a parody depicting the first Black President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama, as apes in a jungle to the tune of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, the White House was defiant. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the backlash as \u201cfake outrage,\u201d<\/strong> defending the clip as an “internet meme” of the President as “King of the Jungle” and other Democrats as Lion King<\/em> characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wave of Backlash<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But the “fake outrage” was actually a tidal wave of condemnation from his own allies. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds<\/strong> – a staunch supporter – reportedly called the White House directly and was told a staffer had “let the president down.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Capitol Hill, the rejection was widespread. Senator Tim Scott<\/strong> called it \u201cthe most racist thing I\u2019ve seen out of this White House.\u201d Senator Roger Wicker<\/strong> called it \u201ctotally unacceptable,\u201d and Senator Pete Ricketts<\/strong> noted that “a reasonable person sees the racist context.” Other Republicans, including Senators Susan Collins, Jerry Moran, and Bill Cassidy<\/strong>, as well as Rep. Mike Lawler<\/strong>, all joined the chorus demanding the video be removed and an apology offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only after 12 hours of visibility and thousands of likes was the video taken down and blamed on an “erroneous staffer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Excuse That Fell Apart<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But the President himself undermined the \u201cstaffer\u201d story. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Friday night, he admitted he liked the first part of the video and \u201cgave it to the people\u201d<\/strong> to post, claiming he simply hadn\u2019t watched the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI look at a lot of thousands of things,\u201d he said, adding that if his staff had looked at the whole thing, \u201cprobably they would have had the sense to take it down.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He insisted, \u201cI didn\u2019t make a mistake,\u201d<\/strong> and repeated his usual line: \u201cI am the least racist person anywhere in the world.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Caller Who Chose “Sorry”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While those in power treat an apology as a sign of weakness, we are seeing a different story play out among the people. Just this week, a caller to C-SPAN<\/strong> went viral for doing the one thing the White House refuses to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The caller, a veteran and former supporter, admitted he was wrong. He spoke about the “Lion King” video and the “animal” rhetoric, saying, \u201cI\u2019m sorry I voted for him… I didn’t realize it would go this far.\u201d<\/strong> It was a quiet, human moment that stood in stark contrast to the defiance on Air Force One. It reminded us that saying \u201cI was wrong\u201d isn\u2019t a surrender of strength – it\u2019s a reclamation of humanity. If a regular citizen can find the courage to admit a mistake, why can’t the person leading the country?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Pattern of Dehumanization<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you can\u2019t admit a mistake, you can\u2019t fix the bias that caused it. This wasn\u2019t an isolated \u201cedit.\u201d The original meme creator, \u201cXerias,\u201d has produced content depicting several Democrats as animals – including former President Joe Biden as an ape and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/strong> (AOC) as a donkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychologically, these metaphors are more than just insults; they change how our brains process information. Studies show that when we associate specific groups with animals, it statistically decreases our empathy for them. It\u2019s a dark irony: in a world where many of us love our animal companions more than our neighbors, “animal” rhetoric is used to strip people of their human rights. We don’t compare rivals to animals to give them the love we give our dogs; we do it to suggest they don’t deserve the moral protections we give to humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recalling racist caricatures is a centuries-old trope used to justify cruelty and violence. We see it when President Trump says of certain immigrants, “They\u2019re not humans, they\u2019re animals,”<\/strong> or when he spreads debunked, racist lies about Haitian immigrants<\/strong> \u201ceating the cats\u201d in Springfield, Ohio – even in the Presidential debate against Kamala Harris. And he still won, imagine that. The goal is always the same: to make the \u201cother\u201d look less than human. It is exactly why global icon Bad Bunny<\/strong> felt the need to tell the world: \u201cWe are not animals. We are humans.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people go through life never learning how to say \u201cI was wrong.\u201d But when that person is in charge, the lack of an apology isn\u2019t just a personality flaw – it\u2019s a permission slip for hate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related Me We Too<\/em> posts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn’t think Trump would apologize for posting the racist meme video of the Obamas (and he didn’t)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t like people who don’t apologize when they are wrong<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why was Donald Trump elected as President in 2024? Stupidity, racism, and sexism.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find it hard to believe that racism will ever cease. It’s unfortunate but also the reality.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all met them. The boss who blames the intern for their own mistake. The friend who says, \u201cI\u2019m sorry you felt that way,\u201d instead of \u201cI was wrong.\u201d Psychologists say this behavior often comes from deep insecurity – some … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1046,1051,1050,1056,1022,1047,1039,1030,1031,1018,1054,1027,1032,1052,1053,1028,1044,1049,1055,1026,1029,1020,1023,1045,1034,1021,1042,1059,1025,1058,1017,1016,1041,1014,1043,1057,1024,1040,1019,1015,1048],"class_list":["post-995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-air-force-one","tag-alexandria-ocasio-cortez","tag-aoc","tag-back-to-december","tag-barack-obama","tag-bias","tag-bill-cassidy","tag-byron-donalds","tag-capitol-hill","tag-dehumanization","tag-eating-the-cats","tag-fake-outrage","tag-florida-rep","tag-haitian","tag-immigrants","tag-internet-meme","tag-jerry-moran","tag-joe-biden","tag-justin-bieber","tag-karoline-leavitt","tag-king-of-the-jungle","tag-lion-king","tag-michelle-obama","tag-mike-lawler","tag-most-racist-thing","tag-obama","tag-pete-ricketts","tag-pop-music","tag-press-secretary","tag-pride","tag-racist-video","tag-racists-meme","tag-roger-wicker","tag-sorry","tag-susan-collins","tag-taylor-swift","tag-the-white-house","tag-tim-scott","tag-truth-social","tag-viral-video","tag-xerias"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=995"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1193,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions\/1193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}