President Donald Trump reportedly made some ill-judged jokes during a speech to Republican National Committee donors last week in Mar-A-Lago, including one where he quipped that Secret Service agents were “in blackface” when he saw them wearing their masks and night vision goggles in the White House.
Mr Trump reportedly made the joke when he described to donors his time in the White House during the holiday season, Axios reported.
The president recalled seeing many agents “in the trees, on the lawn” guarding 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue while wearing night vision goggles.
“They’re in blackface,” Mr Trump reportedly joked. “They have to take them away.”
The comment was a snarky jab at Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, who received massive backlash when a racist photo of him wearing blackface resurfaced.
Mr Northam initially apologised for the photo, but then later denied it was not him in the controversial photo while simultaneously admitting he donned blackface in 1984 when he went to a Michael Jackson tribute party.
RNC Donors at the Mar-A-Lago event had to store their phones in magnetised pouches during Mr Trump’s remarks to avoid leaks.
