Barack Obama breaks silence on Donald Trump ape clip

Obama breaks silence

Photo: © Getty Images

Barack Obama has condemned a racist video circulated by President Donald Trump, calling the incident a disturbing reflection of today’s political climate.

Speaking in a newly released interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, the former president addressed the clip — which featured animated apes with the faces of Obama and Michelle Obama edited onto them — after it briefly appeared on Trump’s Truth Social account earlier this month.

Obama, 64, who didn’t mention Trump by name, said Americans still value “decency, courtesy, [and] kindness,” even as social media amplifies what he described as a “clown show” of hateful content.

He also criticised the growing lack of restraint in political discourse, noting that standards once expected of public figures have eroded.

He said: “There used to be a sense of decorum… that’s been lost."

The clip - which appeared at the end of a montage pushing unproven claims about the 2020 election — was deleted after sparking widespread backlash. When pressed by reporters the following day, Trump refused to apologise, insisting he had done nothing wrong and claiming he hadn’t watched the full clip before posting it.

His wife, Michelle, 62, has not publicly commented.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump in a statement to PEOPLE, saying the clip was simply “an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.

She added: “Please stop the fake outrage…”

Shortly after, the White House issued a follow up statement claiming the post had been uploaded “erroneously” by a staff member and removed once the mistake was noticed. The individual responsible has not been identified.

When reporters pressed Trump on February 12 about whether the staffer had been “fired or disciplined,” he dismissed the idea entirely.