Barack Obama spoke about a social media post shared by Donald Trump that featured a manipulated video of him and Michelle Obama. During a conversation released Feb. 14, the former president responded to the clip and described how many Americans react to the material.
Barack Obama talks about Donald Trump’s video
Barack Obama addressed a racist video shared by Donald Trump that depicted him and Michelle Obama as apes. In an interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama called the clip “deeply troubling” and said most Americans view such conduct negatively.
Trump said the since-deleted post on Truth Social was uploaded by an unidentified staffer. The footage placed the Obamas’ faces on animated apes dancing to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” near the end of a longer video about unsubstantiated voter fraud claims.
“It’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” Obama said. “There’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television.”
The former president did not name Trump when Cohen raised the video. He added, “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 the sense of propriety and respect for the office.”
When asked about the post on Feb. 6, Trump said, “No, I didn’t make a mistake.” He also said, “Nobody knew that that was in the end” (via PEOPLE).
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.” The White House later said “a White House staffer erroneously made the post” before it was taken down.
Obama also said, “It is important for us to recognize the unprecedented nature of what ICE was doing in Minneapolis-Saint Paul.” He added, “The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous.” He said, “You meet people [and] they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness,” while traveling nationwide.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
