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.”