Trump said the since-deleted video, which showed the Obamas' faces superimposed on animations of apes, was posted by an unidentified staffer
Brian Tyler Cohen/YouTube; SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Barack Obama reacted to Donald Trump’s now-deleted racist video of him and his wife, Michelle, in an interview released on Feb. 14
- “There’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television,” said Obama
- A White House official speaking on behalf of Trump previously alleged that the offensive video portraying the couple as apes was posted by an unidentified staffer
Barack Obama is reacting to a racist video of him and his wife, Michelle Obama, as apes that was shared on social media by President Donald Trump.
In an interview with Brian Tyler Cohen released on Saturday, Feb. 14, Obama, 64, described the now-deleted video that was shared on Truth Social by Trump, 79, as “deeply troubling.” The clip showed Obama and Michelle's faces superimposed on the bodies of two animated apes dancing to the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
“It's important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” said Obama. “It is true that it gets attention, that it's a distraction, but as I'm traveling around the country … you meet people [and] they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness. And there's this sort of clown show that's happening in social media and on television.”
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The former president didn’t name Trump directly when Cohen mentioned the racist video. Obama went on to criticize the insensitive and hateful discourse being shared across the current political landscape.
“And 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 the sense of propriety and respect for the office. That's been lost,” said Obama.
Trump sparked outrage when he shared the now-deleted racist video of Obama and Michelle, 62, on Truth Social on Feb. 5. The footage of the couple as apes was included towards the end of a clip discussing unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud during the 2020 election.
When questioned by a journalist on Friday, Feb. 6, Trump refused to apologize for the video, stating that, "No, I didn't make a mistake."
"I mean I look at a lot of thousands of things. I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine," Trump continued. "I guess it was a take off on The Lion King and certainly it was a very strong post in terms of voter fraud."
He added, "Nobody knew that that was in the end. If they would have seen it and probably they would have had the sense to take it down."
Kevin Dietsch/Getty; CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP via Getty
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump in a statement shared with PEOPLE, "This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.” "Please stop the fake outrage…"
The White House later claimed in a statement to PEOPLE that "a White House staffer erroneously made the post,” before it was “taken down." The staffer hasn’t been identified. On Feb. 12, when asked by a reporter if the person responsible had been "fired or disciplined," Trump responded, “No, I haven’t."
In his latest interview, Obama also spoke out against actions of the the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Trump’s administration, calling it “deeply concerning” and “dangerous.”
“It is important for us to recognize the unprecedented nature of what ICE was doing in Minneapolis-Saint Paul,” he said. “The way that ICE agents were being deployed without any clear guidelines, training … pulling people out of their homes …. teargassing crowds simply because they were standing there not breaking any laws."
“The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous," Obama continued. "But we should take a moment to appreciate the extraordinary outpouring of organizing [and] community-building, decency … in a systematic, organized way, citizens saying this is not the America we believe in. And we're going to fight back and we're gonna push back with the truth."
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