Camilla Jessen
Obama calls behavior ‘deeply troubling’.
Former President Barack Obama has spoken publicly for the first time about a racist video that was briefly shared from President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account.
The clip, posted earlier this month, showed the Obamas portrayed as primates while the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played. It appeared at the end of a longer video making unproven claims about election fraud.
When first questioned, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed criticism as “fake outrage,” saying the clip was part of “an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.”
The post was later removed, with the White House saying a staff member had “erroneously made the post.”
Obama speaks out
Appearing on Brian Taylor Cohen’s podcast, Obama addressed the controversy without directly naming Trump.
“First of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” he said.
He added: “It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction.”
Obama criticized what he described as a broader decline in standards in public life.
“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?” he said. “That’s been lost.”
Trump’s response
Trump told reporters he condemned the racist elements of the video but said he did not believe he had made a mistake.
“No, I didn’t make a mistake,” he said, explaining that he had only viewed the beginning of the clip before it was posted.
He said the video was taken down once the issue was identified and confirmed that the staff member responsible had not been fired or disciplined.
Sources: Brian Taylor Cohen podcast, Truth Social, White House comments
