Obama Calls Political Climate a “Clown Show” After Trump Shares Controversial Video

Former President Barack Obama addressed the state of political discourse this week after President Donald Trump shared a social media video depicting Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys, imagery that drew bipartisan criticism.

Former President Barack and Michelle Obama - Facebook photo

The video, posted on Trump’s account on Truth Social, showed AI-generated imagery placing the Obamas’ faces onto animated ape bodies. The post was later deleted.

After defiantly defending the post, Trump’s team said the video was posted in error by a staff member and was removed once the mistake was identified. But the post appeared after 10 p.m. Eastern time and Trump has been known to post on social media late at night and has acknowledged in the past that he personally manages and frequently reviews his accounts.

The president has said he did not view the full video before it was shared and has not issued a public apology nor has he disciplined anyone for the post.

In an interview with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama did not mention Trump by name but criticized what he described as a breakdown in political norms.

“It’s a clown show,” Obama said, referring to the current political environment. “There used to be some guardrails. There used to be at least a baseline understanding that we’re not going to demean people in that way.”

Obama added that Americans are “deeply troubled by the tone of our politics” and said the country risks losing important democratic norms if standards of conduct continue to erode.

Lawmakers from both parties criticized the imagery in the video. Several Republicans called the post inappropriate, while Democrats labeled it racist. Civil rights organizations noted the historical use of simian imagery as a derogatory stereotype directed at Black individuals.

The White House has not announced any internal review related to the incident. The episode comes amid heightened political tensions as the 2026 election cycle approaches.

Obama framed his remarks as a broader commentary on political culture rather than a direct exchange with Trump, saying, “We can disagree without dehumanizing one another.”