After an audiotape surfaced Saturday purporting to catch Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling making offensive racial remarks, everyone from current and former players to late night TV hosts weighed in with their opinions on the controversy. But President Obama, who perhaps more publicly than anyone grappled with America's lingering racial issues when he ran for president, blasted the comments as "incredibly offensive" and "racist" on Sunday, framing them within the broader context of America's segregated past.
"When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk," Obama said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Fed chair Powell in Trump's firing lineSpeed Read The president considers removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
-
Trump trashes supporters over Epstein filesspeed read The president lashed out on social media following criticism of his administration's Jeffrey Epstein investigation
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checksSpeed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for ArizonaSpeed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firingsSpeed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayorSpeed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shootingSpeed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
