Washington (AFP)

Donald Trump apologized Monday for Bubba Wallace, the only black NASCAR pilot, who had caused a stir in the country when a noose was discovered in his garage before the FBI concluded that he had not been the victim of a racist crime.

In June, when demonstrations against racism were in full swing in the United States, Bubba Wallace had found a hanged rope in his garage, before a race of this American automobile championship very popular in the South and prized by the Conservatives.

The federal authorities had quickly opened an investigation, the hanged rope recalling the lynchings practiced in the United States during the periods of slavery and segregation. In the midst of the "Black Lives Matter" movement, the affair had had a very strong media response.

But very quickly the investigation had determined that the rope, even if it actually had the shape of a noose, had been installed in the garage months before and that the pilot had therefore not been the target of a crime racist.

This conclusion had been widely commented on social networks, especially among right-wing and far-right groups who were shouting hoaxes.

"Did Bubba Wallace apologize to all these great pilots and Nascar officials who came to his aid, supported him and were ready to sacrifice everything for him, before realizing that all this was just another hoax? ", President Trump tweeted Monday morning.

All the pilots had reacted in solidarity, thinking he was the victim of a racist crime, and even after the conclusion of the investigation NASCAR had recalled that the noose was very real, as was his concern for Bubba Wallace.

"With hindsight, I should have used the word" presumed "in our declaration", however, nuanced the president of NASCAR, Steve Phelps, who had initially mentioned "an odious act".

This episode "and the flag decision caused the worst television audiences for this car championship, President Trump added on Monday, referring to NASCAR's decision last month to ban the Confederate flag from its stands during the races. .

Since the death of George Floyd, many protesters have attacked symbols of the racist and slavery past of the United States, such as statues and Confederate flags.

A movement that Mr. Trump strongly opposed, calling it a "leftist cultural revolution".

© 2020 AFP