Monday at the White House press briefing when asked about President Barack Obama using the “N-word ” on a podcast, press secretary Josh Earnest said the president did not regret it.
Earnest was asked, “I wonder if his use of that was intended to be provocative and given the reaction does he in any way regret it?”
He replied, “He does not. The president’s use of the word and the reason he used the word could not be more apparent from the context of his discussion on podcast. The president made clear though it’s not possible to judge the progress on race issues based solely on an evaluation of our country’s manners. The fact is that we’ve made undeniable progress in this country over the last several decades. And as the president himself has often said, anyone who lived in this country through the ’50s and the ’60s and the ’70s and the ’80s notes that tremendous progress we made, it’s undeniable.”
“What’s also undeniable is there is more work that needs to be done and more we can do. The fact is everyone in this country should take some inspiration from the progress that was made in the previous generation and use that as an motivation and inspiration to try to make further progress toward a more union.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN