Trump-supporting pastor apologises for sharing cartoon of Hillary Clinton in 'blackface'

A Trump-supporting US pastor has apologised for sharing a cartoon of Hillary Clinton wearing 'blackface' but defended the message the image portrayed.

Pastor Mark Burns, who preaches on the Christian Now television network, shared a cartoon image of the Democrat candidate wearing a t-shirt bearing the slogan 'no hot sauce no peace', with a caption stating: "Black Americans, thank you for votes and letting me use you again. See you in four years."

The African American pastor has since removed the tweet and apologised for sharing the image with those who were offended.

"Because of the offence, the message has been lost – and that's what's important," he said in Periscope footage shared on twitter.

"I am apologising for the offensive picture but I am not apologising for the message it was carrying. I still believe Hillary Clinton and the Democrat party pander to black people. I do believe we have been worse off after eight years under Democrat rule.

He added: "To the people that was offended, obviously many people were offended by my tweet and it was not at all my intention to offend anyone.

"I am a shepherd to god's people and the last thing I wasn't to do is to offend people. The tweet was not designed to anger or stir up the pot like it did, it was designed to bring how I feel a very real reality as to why the Democratic Party, how I view it, have been pandering and using black people just for their votes."

He added he did not create the 'blackface' cartoon but shared it after it was sent to him. He also apologised for angering people and added he did not want to get lost in political correctness but that his intentions had been honourable.