Obama on Donald Sterling: Remarks ignorant and 'incredibly offensive'

Rahman Rosian / Getty Images

Obama on Donald Sterling: Remarks ignorant and 'incredibly offensive'
(Image credit: Rahman Rosian / Getty Images)

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.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.