Former US President Barack Obama has spoken out about a video posted on social media by Donald Trump depicting him and his first lady as monkeys, saying that the “sense of decency and respect” for the office has now been lost.
He said this on the Brian Tyler Cohen podcast.
The host drew attention to the White House's statements about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and “domestic terrorists,” and also highlighted a video of Trump that featured a shot of his face on the body of a monkey.
“It's important to recognize that most Americans find this kind of behavior deeply disturbing. It really draws attention. It really distracts attention,” Obama responded.
He added that while traveling around the US, he met people who “still believe in decency, politeness, kindness.”
“There's something like a clown show going on on social media and on television. And the truth is, people who used to think that you had to follow certain norms of behavior, have a sense of decency and respect for your position, now they don't seem to feel any shame about it, do they? That's lost,” Obama stressed.
In his response, he did not mention Trump by name. Obama also expressed support for protesters who peacefully organized actions against immigration operations.
US President Donald Trump previously said he had only seen the beginning of the video before it was posted by an aide and did not know it featured Obama. Speaking to reporters and asked if he would apologize, he said: “I made no mistake.”
What is known
The clip, shot for the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight, was at the end of a 62-second video that contained claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The White House initially defended the clip as an internet meme and urged critics to “stop the fake outrage.”
However, after public backlash, including from several Republican senators, the post was removed from Trump's Truth Social account, and a White House official said it had been “mistakenly” posted by a staffer.
This video also features several other Democrats in animal form, including New York State House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York City Mayor Zohrab Mamdani, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Trump's predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden, is also depicted as a monkey eating a banana.