Former US President Barack Obama has sharply criticized President Donald Trump following a racist video posted on Trump’s social media platform. The video sparked a strong reaction from Obama, according to reports by the BBC.
In the report, Obama spoke to a podcast host and said that the sense of shame and decorum that government officials once had seems to have disappeared. Recently, a controversial video was posted on Truth Social, the social media platform owned by Trump. In the final segment of the video, Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, were depicted as monkeys.
The video drew widespread condemnation from leaders of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Initially, the White House defended the video, calling the criticism “fake outrage.” However, later, a staff member was held responsible for posting it, and the video was removed.
According to the BBC, Obama spoke with liberal podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen in a podcast. Cohen referred to Trump’s controversial post as part of a discussion on the current state of US political discourse.
In the 47-minute podcast released on Saturday (February 14), Cohen began by commenting on the current “discourse” in the United States. In response, Obama said that it has descended to a level of cruelty previously unseen.
During the podcast, Cohen mentioned that the White House had labelled victims of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as “domestic terrorists.” He also referred to a recent post in which Trump placed Obama’s face on a monkey’s body.
Obama responded that most Americans find such behaviour deeply concerning. He added, “It is true that these things attract attention, but it is also true that they distract from the main issues.”
The former president noted that social media and television have become a kind of circus. He further stated, “The reality is that those who once believed there should be respect, decorum, and civility for the office now seem to have lost any sense of shame regarding these values, haven’t they? That sense is gone.”
However, Obama did not directly mention Trump by name during his remarks.
