Former US President Barack Obama has criticised the state of political discourse after President Donald Trump shared an offensive video depicting him and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The offensive clip, set to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight, appeared at the end of a video posted on Trump’s Truth Social account containing unfounded claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election. The post sparked widespread condemnation from Democrats and Republicans.
The White House initially defended the video, dismissing backlash as “fake outrage”. The post was later deleted and blamed on a staff member.
Obama addressed the issue during a 47-minute podcast interview with liberal host Brian Tyler Cohen, released on Saturday. Cohen referenced the post while asking the former president about the tone of US political discourse, noting that “just days ago, Donald Trump put a picture of you, your face, on an ape’s body”.
Responding without mentioning Trump by name, Obama said: “It’s important to recognise that the majority of the American people find this behaviour deeply troubling.
“It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction.”
He added that political debate in the US “has devolved to a level of cruelty that we haven’t seen before”.
Reflecting on his travels across the country, Obama said he continues to meet Americans who “still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness”.
“There’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television,” he continued.
“And what is true is that there doesn’t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office, right?
“That’s been lost.”
The video drew sharp criticism from members of Trump’s own Republican party. Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican senator, described it as “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House”.
The clip echoes longstanding racist caricatures comparing Black people to monkeys. It appeared to have originated from an X post shared by conservative meme creator Xerias in October.
Trump told reporters that he “didn’t see” the portion of the video showing the Obamas.
“I didn’t make a mistake,” he said when asked whether he would apologise.
During the podcast, Obama also discussed immigration enforcement, electoral redistricting and his presidential library, which is due to open in Chicago next year.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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