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Former President Barack Obama spoke out a week after President Donald Trump’s social media account posted a video depicting him and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, condemning behavior on television and social media as a “clown show.”
Obama was asked about the social media post, which was taken down following growing calls from both sides of the aisle hours after Trump shared it, during an interview with podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen posted on Saturday.
Former President Barack Obama speaks at a rally for New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Newark, N.J.
Angelina Katsanis/AP
“Well, first of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” Obama said.
He added, “And there’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television … 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 sort of decorum and a sense of propriety, and respect for the office, right? So, that’s been lost.”
The minute-long video was posted on Trump’s social media platform on Feb. 5 at 11:44 p.m. It largely focused on debunked claims about the 2020 election, but near the end abruptly showed the Obamas’ faces on the bodies of apes without explanation and the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” playing over it.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt first brushed off criticism of the video the next morning as “fake outrage” and said the racist animation of the Obamas was from an “internet meme” that depicted Trump as king of the jungle and Democrats as various animals.
But later a White House official claimed a “staffer erroneously made the post.”
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he departs from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, February 13, 2026.
Evan Vucci/AP
Several hours later, Trump maintained he “didn’t make a mistake” and that he didn’t see the entire video before he gave it to “the people” to have it posted to his account.
Trump told reporters this week that the unidentified staffer who allegedly posted the video had not been disciplined for posting the video on his account.
Asked by ABC News’ Fritz Farrow on Feb. 6 if he condemned the racist portion of the video, Trump said, “Of course I do.”
Asked if he had any message to Americans who were offended by the post, Trump said, “Well, I have no message. I didn’t know about it, so I mean, it went up. I really have no message.”
Trump has not publicly apologized for the post.
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
