Former President Barack Obama delivered a sharp rebuke of America’s political climate after President Donald Trump shared a social media video that included an image depicting Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Speaking in an interview with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama warned that the country’s political discourse has devolved into what he described as a degrading “clown show.”
“First of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” Obama said. “It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction… you meet people… they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness, and there’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television.”
The remarks marked Obama’s most direct response since Trump reposted the controversial meme on Truth Social earlier this month.
The video, centered on debunked claims of 2020 election fraud, ended with an AI-generated segment showing the Obamas’ faces superimposed onto ape bodies while the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played in the background.
The imagery sparked bipartisan condemnation, with critics describing it as racially offensive.
The White House initially downplayed the controversy.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the backlash as “fake outrage,” arguing the clip was a meme depicting Trump as the “King of the Jungle” and Democrats as characters from “The Lion King.”
Later, a White House official said a staffer had “erroneously” posted the clip and that it had been taken down.
Trump told reporters he “didn’t watch the whole video” before it was shared and denied wrongdoing, per the Daily Mail.
“What I saw in the beginning was really strong. It was about fraudulent elections,” Trump said. “I didn’t do it. This was done by someone else.”
The post was eventually deleted, but criticism continued.
Sen. Tim Scott called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House” and urged its removal.
Sen. Roger Wicker described the video as “totally unacceptable,” while Sen. Pete Ricketts said “a reasonable person sees the racist context.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office labeled the post “disgusting behavior.”
A White House insider later claimed the offensive segment was accidentally included in a screen recording and that the president never viewed the final portion before it was reposted.
Obama did not mention Trump by name during his interview, but emphasized that most Americans still value civility.
His comments framed the controversy as part of a broader erosion of political norms rather than an isolated incident.
The episode adds to ongoing tensions between the two men, whose rivalry has shaped much of the country’s political narrative over the past decade.
