Former US President Barack Obama has criticised the decline in political civility after a racist video depicting him and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes was shared on President Donald Trump’s social media account.
Although Obama did not mention Trump by name, he told liberal podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen that the “shame” and “decorum” once expected of public officials has largely disappeared.
“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,” Obama said.
“That’s been lost.”
The Controversial Video
The offensive clip appeared at the end of a video posted to Trump’s Truth Social account. The broader video promoted unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
The final segment — set to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight — included a manipulated image portraying the Obamas as apes, echoing long-standing racist caricatures historically used to dehumanise Black people.
The post sparked bipartisan criticism.
Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the US Senate, described it as:
“The most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.”
The White House initially dismissed criticism as “fake outrage,” but later said the post was shared by a staff member and removed it.
Trump told reporters he “didn’t see” the offensive portion of the clip and said he had not made a mistake when asked whether he would apologise.
Obama on Political Discourse
In the 47-minute podcast episode released Saturday, Obama reflected more broadly on the state of American political debate.
He said US discourse has “devolved to a level of cruelty that we haven’t seen before,” but stressed that most Americans still believe in decency and kindness.
“It’s important to recognise that the majority of the American people find this behaviour deeply troubling,” he said.
“It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction.”
Obama also described what he called a “clown show” environment driven by social media and television outrage cycles.
Wider Political Context
During the interview, Obama addressed several additional topics:
- Praising peaceful protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations
- Discussing electoral redistricting
- Highlighting progress on his presidential library in Chicago
The controversy underscores ongoing tensions in US politics, where rhetoric — particularly online — continues to intensify amid deep partisan divisions.