The White House stands by President Obama’s use of the N word in his interview on the WTF podcast released Monday.
Press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters the President does not regret using the word and its use was justified in the context of his response on American race relations with host Marc Maron.
While addressing last week’s massacre in Charleston, S.C., during the interview, Obama said the ugly racial hatred that has existed throughout American history persists, despite the progress we’ve made as a nation.
“Racism — we’re not cured of it,” he said. “It’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say n—-r in public. That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination.”
Earnest spent a significant portion of Monday’s press briefing responding to questions about the President’s use of the word: Why did he do it? Did he know it would be provocative? Did he set out to use it before participating in the interview?
Earnest said there was no decision going into the interview on whether or not Obama would say the word, which he can also be heard uttering in the audiobook of his memoir Dreams From My Father.
Earnest also said that while it’s “understandably notable” that the President used this word — which is increasingly apparent in the amount of attention that this slither of the interview has garnered — the overarching point he was making was one he’s made repeatedly in the past.
“The argument that the President has made in the context of this interview is consistent with arguments that he’s made in other settings,” Earnest said.
Photos: What Obama's Hugs Meant
![US-POLITICS-MILITARY-OBAMA-HAGEL President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel embrace during a press conference to announce Hagel's departure at the White House on Nov. 24, 2014 in Washington, DC.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/chuck-hagel-resign.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Jay Carney, Barack Obama President Barack Obama gives White House press secretary Jay Carney a hug after announcing that Carney will step down later next month, during a surprise visit to the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2014. The president announced Carney's departure in a surprise appearance at in the White House press briefing room Friday. He said principal deputy press secretary Josh Earnest will take over the job. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/obama-best-hug-04.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![US-VOTE-2012-DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN US-VOTE-2012-DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/obama-best-hug-01.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![President Barack Obama Meets with Dallas Nurse Nina Pham WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 24: U.S. President Barack Obama gives a hug to Dallas nurse Nina Pham in the Oval Office of the White House October 24, 2014 in Washington, DC. Pham, a nurse who was infected with Ebola from treating patient Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and was first diagnosed on October 12, was declared free of the virus on Friday. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/obama-best-hug-03.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY-OBAMA US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY-OBAMA](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/obama-best-hug-02.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Barack Obama, Donna Vanzant FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama, left, embraces Donna Vanzant, right, during a tour of a neighborhood effected by Superstorm Sandy in Brigantine, N.J. Vanzant is a owner of North Point Marina, which was damaged by the storm. In the end, President Obama won re-election exactly the way his campaign had predicted: running up big margins with women and minorities, mobilizing a sophisticated registration and get-out-the-vote operation and focusing narrowly on the battleground states that would determine the election. Still, there were detours along the way. Superstorm Sandy upended the campaign in its closing days, though the political impact appears to have been positive for Obama, giving him a high-profile opportunity to show voters presidential leadership(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/obama-best-hug-05.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![U.S. President Obama kisses Suu Kyi following joint remarks at her residence in Yangon U.S. President Barack Obama kisses Aung San Suu Kyi following joint remarks at her residence in Yangon, November 19, 2012. President Obama became the first serving U.S. president to visit Myanmar on Monday, trying during a whirlwind six-hour trip to strike a balance between praising the government's progress in shaking off military rule and pressing for more reform. REUTERS/Jason Reed (MYANMAR - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3ALMW](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/obama-best-hug-06.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Barack Obama, Scott Van Duzer President Barack Obama, right, is picked-up and lifted off the ground by Scott Van Duzer, left, owner of Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant during an unannounced stop, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Ft. Pierce, Fla. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/obama-bear-hug.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
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