Donald Trump apology: Six other times the US President should have said sorry

Surprising near-apology from a president famous for refusing to say sorry is far from only scenario billionaire businessman may have opted to display contrition

Donald Trump has offered to apologise for retweeting inflammatory anti-Muslim videos by far-right group Britain First in an interview with longtime friend Piers Morgan.

Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the US President said he would apologise “if you’d like me to do that”, despite repeatedly resisting previous calls from world leaders – including Theresa May – to apologise for his tacit endorsement of the group.

Morgan was the 2008 winner of Mr Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice and has remained loyal to the former real estate mogul throughout his campaign and presidency, saying his politics do not affect their friendship.

“​Here’s what’s fair. If you are telling me they’re horrible people, horrible, racist people, I would certainly apologise if you’d like me to do that,” Mr Trump told the presenter. “I know nothing about them. I don't want to be involved with them."

The near-apology from a president who is infamous for reluctance to display contrition was met with widespread surprise on Friday.

But the Britain First saga is far from the only scenario for which Mr Trump could proffer a mea culpa.

Saying Haitians and Africans come from 's***hole' countries

Mr Trump was accused of referring to Haiti and African countries as “s***hole countries” during a meeting with congressional leaders in the Oval Office in January. While he has denied using the term, a number of senators insist he uttered it repeatedly.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders appeared to confirm the claims, saying: "The president hasn’t said he didn’t use strong language."

Issuing the 'Muslim ban'

During Mr Trump’s presidential campaign, he repeatedly called for what he then described as a ban on Muslim people from entering the US. Since then, he has succeeded in implementing a “travel ban”, targeting six Muslim-majority countries.

The premise of the ban has been repeatedly labelled “unconstitutional” and civil liberties groups have accused him of “spinning prejudice into actual policy" - views supported by a series of judges who blocked the ban.

“Grab them by the pussy”

The Republican's election campaign seemingly suffered a severe blow when an audio recording of him bragging about how he could “grab them [women] by the pussy” was leaked.

He was heard insisting he had the right to do “whatever he wanted” with women, as he was a “star”.

But despite the comments triggering an eruption of anger, Mr Trump was victorious in January's election, without ever offering a full apology.

He dismissed the episode as “locker room banter” and said he had heard much “worse” from Bill Clinton on the golf course. He later offered a half-apology for “causing offence”.

Refusing to condemn white supremacist violence in Charlottesville

Mr Trump inflamed already heightened tensions after a white nationalist rally in Virginia by insisting that counter protesters were also to blame.

James Fields, a 20-year-old Ohio man, who is said to have harboured Nazi sympathies, was charged with murder after the car he was driving ploughed into a crowd of counter protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19.

But Mr Trump insisted multiple times there had been “violence on both sides” in the wake of the rally.

Firing James Comey

Mr Trump fired former FBI director James Comey in May 2017, unleashing a storm of claims the US President was trying to obstruct the probe into alleged Russian collusion in his election campaign.

The decision was described by the President’s sacked former chief strategist Steve Bannon as one of the “biggest mistakes in modern political history.”

It led many to draw parallels with Richard Nixon’s “Watergate scandal”, that saw the then president dismiss the man leading the investigation against him.

Mr Trump’s decision stunned politicians across the spectrum, and exposed Mr Trump to persistent speculation that he has something to hide.

Standing by Roy Moore

Mr Trump endorsed former Supreme Court judge Roy Moore to for the Alabama Senate election, despite him being accused of sexual assault by a slew of young women.

Mr Moore defied calls to step down over the allegations, with one woman claiming sexual contact started when she was 14 and he was in his 30s.

The Republican lost the election to Democrat Doug Jones but the Trump administration was steadfast in its support of the Republican.