The White House says President Barack Obama doesn't regret using the N-word to make a point about racial progress in an interview.
Spokesman Josh Earnest says the White House isn't surprised that the president uttering a word used as a racial slur would stir controversy.
But Earnest says Obama didn't plan in advance to use the word to be provocative.
He says Obama was speaking in a free-flowing, casual interview for a podcast and trying to make the point that ending racism is about more than manners.
Obama said that just because people realise it's not polite to use the racial slur in public doesn't mean that racism is "cured".
