Barack Obama breaks silence on Trump's racist video, says shame is 'lost'

Former President of the United States of America, Barack Obama has spoken out for the first time about the racist video of him and his wife Michelle that was posted by Trump on Truth Social recently. In an interview with journalist Brian Tyler Cohen, he called his successor's behaviour "deeply troubling" and termed it a "clown show."

“Just days ago Donald Trump put a picture of you, your face on an ape’s body — and so again, we’ve kind of seen the devolution of the discourse,” said Cohen. “How do we come back from the place that we have fallen into?” he asked.





Obama, 64, said that the majority of Americans found this behaviour deeply troubling. While it received attention and created a distraction, he claimed there were still people in the country who believed in the values of decency, courtesy and kindness. “First of all, I think it’s important to recognise that the majority of the American people find this behaviour deeply troubling,” Obama responded. “It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction, but as I’m travelling around the country, as you’re travelling around the country, you meet people — they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness.”

He stated that there was a "sort of clown show" playing out on social media and on television, adding that the sense of propriety and decorum for the office has been lost. “What is true is there doesn’t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sense of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office. So that’s been lost,” he added.

This marks the first time Obama has spoken out about the racist now-deleted video that the President posted on Truth Social on February 6, 2026. It featured animated versions of Barack and Michelle Obama depicted as apes while 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' played in the background. While the post created much outrage online, Trump claimed he "didn't see" the racist bit in it and added he "didn't make a mistake" while refusing to apologise.

Elsewhere in the interview, Obama also praised Bad Bunny's Super Bowl LX halftime performance. He said people who don't speak Spanish and had never been to Puerto Rico were enjoying the artist's show. "It was a reminder of what Dr King called the beloved community can look like... There's room for everybody here. And that I think is where we win," he said, while also acknowledging that "not all the lyrics were politically correct."