Barack Obama has broken his silence on the AI-generated video shared on Truth Social by Donald Trump that depicted the Obamas as apes.
In the recent interview on Brian Tyler Cohen podcast, Cohen started off by discussing how political discourse has devolved into a level of cruelty the country has not seen before. The political podcast host noted that behavior which once would have been disqualifying is now often accepted and even rewarded – pointing to the AI-generated video as one example. Obama was asked how the nation can recover from what he described as a troubling decline in standards.
He described the controversy as part of a social media “clown show,” saying the country has lost its sense of “decorum” and “respect” for the office.
“First of all, I think it’s important to recognize that a majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” Obama said.
He emphasized that the post was meant to grab attention and serve as a distraction. Obama added that as he travels across the country, he sees that most Americans still believe in decency, courtesy, and kindness.
Barack Obama was interviewed by YouTube commentator Brian Tyler Cohen (left), where he addressed the AI-generated video posted on Donald Trump’s Truth Social account; Photo Credit: Getty Images and AFP
“There’s this sort of clown show happening on social media and on television,” Obama said, adding that there no longer seems to be any shame among some public figures who once felt they needed to uphold a sense of decorum, propriety, and respect for the office. He suggested that standard has been lost.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously dismissed the backlash as “fake outrage,” describing the clip as a Lion King parody. The video was later taken down, with a representative claiming it was posted in error. Trump blamed a staffer for sharing it. Despite calls to apologize, he has refused to do so, saying he “didn’t make a mistake” and maintaining that no staffer has been fired over the post.
