Washington DC - President Donald Trump used a press conference on Thursday to double down on his defense of a racist video he posted depicting former presidential couple Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.

"That was a video on, as you know, on voter fraud," Trump responded when asked whether he had removed the staffer who the White House claimed posted the video last week.

"It was a fairly long video, and they had a little piece, and it had to do with the Lion King," he said, referring to the 1994 Disney film. "It's doing very well; uh, it's been shown all over the place, long before that was posted."

"But that was a very strong – and I'm sure you saw it – a very strong piece on voter fraud, and the piece we were talking about was all over the place, many times, I believe, for years."

Trump posted the one-minute video on his Truth Social account last week, soliciting outcries and condemnation right across the web.

The video repeats a series of false allegations claiming that Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the 2020 election.

It also includes a section showing the heads of ex-President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama superimposed over the bodies of monkeys as The Lion Sleeps Tonight plays in the background.

Trump also admitted that no staffer has been disciplined over the video, which was released during a 66-post spree late on Thursday night last week.

"Disgusting behavior by the President," wrote California Governor Gavin Newsom in response to the video, amid a flurry of outrage. "Every single Republican must denounce this. Now."