Washington, Feb. 15 — Former U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday criticized the deterioration of political discourse in the United States and what he described as a “circus’ on social media, days after President Donald Trump posted and later deleted a video depicting Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
“It’s important to recognize that most Americans find this behavior deeply troubling,” the Democratic former president (2009–2017) said when asked about the clip during a podcast hosted by journalist Brian Tyler Cohen, which was published on YouTube.
Without directly mentioning Trump or members of his Cabinet—who often use memes and controversial imagery to promote policies online—Obama acknowledged that such tactics “get attention” and function as a “distraction.”
“There’s this kind of buffoonish show on social media and on television. And what’s true is that there no longer seems to be any shame about it among people who once felt there had to be a certain decorum, a sense of propriety and respect for the office. That’s been lost,” Obama said.
The video included a racist depiction of the Obamas as chimpanzees in a jungle, accompanied by music from The Lion King. The clip was part of a broader post referencing alleged interference involving Dominion Voting Systems in the 2020 presidential election, in which Democrat Joe Biden defeated Trump.
The video was shared late on Thursday, Feb. 5, by Trump’s official account on Truth Social, where the president frequently mixes official administration announcements with news links, memes, AI-generated images, and reposts from followers. The offensive segment appeared near the end of the post and was reportedly created by an Instagram user known as “xerias_x,” who produces pro-Trump AI and meme content.
The post drew criticism even from members of the Republican Party, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, considered a close ally of the president.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed the controversy, describing the backlash as “feigned outrage.”
However, on Friday, Feb. 6, Trump’s Truth Social account deleted the video, and the White House attributed its publication to a member of the administration staff.
Trump has refused to apologize. “I didn’t make any mistake,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One the same day the clip was removed. He added that he would not fire the person who shared the video and said he had not watched it in full before it was posted, explaining that he simply “gave it to people” to upload.
