Breaking a week of calculated silence, former President Barack Obama has finally addressed the controversial video shared by Donald Trump that depicted him and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
In a wide-ranging, 47-minute interview with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen released Saturday, Obama delivered a searing indictment of the current state of American political discourse. While he avoided mentioning his successor by name, his target was unmistakable as he lamented the collapse of “shame” and “decorum” within the highest office in the land.
“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 sense of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office,” Obama said. “That’s been lost.”
A ‘Clown Show’ of Distraction
The interview marks Obama’s first public reaction to the February 5 Truth Social post that featured an AI-generated clip of the Obamas superimposed onto primate bodies, set to the tune of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Obama characterized the incident as part of a larger “clown show” playing out across social media and cable news—a spectacle he argues is designed more for attention than for substance.
“It’s true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction,” Obama noted. “But as I’m traveling around the country… you meet people—they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness. I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling.”
The White House ‘Error’ and Trump’s Defiance
The fallout from the video has been one of the most significant bipartisan ruptures of the second Trump administration. After initially defending the clip as a harmless Lion King meme and dismissing criticism as “fake outrage,” the White House abruptly deleted the post on February 6, citing a “staffer error.”
However, President Trump himself has refused to apologize. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One later that evening, the President claimed he had only viewed the first half of the video—which focused on 2020 election conspiracy theories—and “didn’t see” the racist caricature at the end.
“I didn’t make a mistake,” Trump told reporters. “I looked at the first part… I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of a picture that people don’t like.”
A Climate of ‘Cruelty’
Beyond the video itself, Obama used the interview to connect the racist imagery to a broader “devolution of discourse.” He compared the rhetoric used to dehumanize political opponents to the language currently surrounding the administration’s immigration crackdown, specifically citing the labeling of individuals targeted by ICE as “domestic terrorists.”
“The discourse has devolved to a level of cruelty that we haven’t seen before,” Obama said. He pointed to the recent mass protests in Minnesota against ICE raids as evidence that the “American people find this behavior deeply troubling” and are willing to organize for a “beloved community” that has room for everyone.
The 2028 Horizon
While Obama’s comments were focused on the present, the political undertones of the interview were clear. By speaking out now, the former President has lent his considerable moral weight to a Democratic “reassurance tour” led by figures like Gavin Newsom, who are currently in Europe promising allies that the Trump era is a temporary deviation.
As the interview concluded, Obama pivoted toward a more optimistic note, referencing Bad Bunny’s recent Super Bowl halftime performance as a reminder of a diverse, inclusive America. “That, I think, is where we win,” he said.
For now, the “clown show” continues in Washington, but Obama’s intervention serves as a pointed reminder that while the White House may have deleted the post, the “wall of mistrust” it fortified remains standing.