Barack Obama is breaking his silence on the racist AI-generated video that President Trump shared on Truth Social in February 2026, depicting the former president and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes — but he’s making clear he has no intention of becoming Trump’s full-time critic.
In a sweeping new interview with writer David Remnick published this week, Obama issued a pointed warning to Trump while simultaneously refusing to take what he called the “political bait” of becoming a daily commentator on the chaos emanating from the White House. The remarks, given to The New Yorker, mark Obama’s most direct response yet to one of the most racially charged controversies of Trump’s second term.
A Line Even Opponents Should Respect
The AI clip, set to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” appeared at the end of a longer video Trump’s Truth Social account shared in February that promoted unfounded claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election. The footage appeared to have been lifted from an X post shared in October by conservative meme creator Xerias and quickly drew bipartisan condemnation. Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.”
The White House initially defended the post, dismissing the backlash as “fake outrage,” before pivoting to blame the posting on a staff member. The video was eventually deleted, but Trump later confirmed he had posted it himself and refused to apologize. Asked by reporters whether he planned to say sorry, the president flatly replied, “I didn’t make a mistake.”
Obama, who served as the nation’s first Black president, told Remnick that personal attacks against him are part of the territory — but that his family is not.
“I don’t take it personally,” Obama said. “I mean, I’m always offended when my wife and kids get dragged into things, because they didn’t choose this…That’s a line that even people whose politics I deeply reject, I would expect them to care about. I would never talk about somebody’s family in that way.”
The former president added, with a hint of dry humor, that Trump should direct his fire at him alone: “I’m a fair target in the sense of, yeah, you can feel free to pick on me, because I’m your own size.”
More Worried About War Videos
Perhaps surprisingly, Obama said the ape video isn’t even what concerns him most about Trump’s social media output. He pointed instead to other AI-generated content the president has shared — videos that he said treat war “like a video game” and depict “excrement dumped on ordinary citizens.” Those, he suggested, represent a more dangerous degradation of presidential conduct than even the racist caricature aimed at him and his wife.
The clip recalled longstanding racist tropes comparing Black people to monkeys, and the fallout extended to Capitol Hill. During the State of the Union Address, Congressman Al Green held up a sign reading “Black People Aren’t Apes,” a moment that crystallized Democratic outrage. Even some longtime Trump supporters described the post as one of the more overtly racist acts of his presidency.
Why He Won’t Be the Next Jon Stewart
Despite mounting pressure from Democrats hoping the former president will become a louder voice in the resistance, Obama made plain that he has no interest in stepping into the role of professional critic.
“For me to function like Jon Stewart, even once a week, just going off, just ripping what was happening — which, by the way, I’m glad Jon’s doing it — then I’m not a political leader, I’m a commentator,” he said.
Obama acknowledged the frustration many supporters feel, conceding that the modern media environment makes it difficult for the public to see the work he is actually doing — including efforts around the upcoming midterm elections and referendum campaigns targeting gerrymandering. The expectation, he said, has shifted toward constant performance rather than substantive engagement.
A ‘Clown Show’ and a Country
Obama’s New Yorker remarks build on comments he made earlier in February on liberal podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen’s show, where the 47-minute episode released on Saturday, February 14, 2026, addressed what Cohen described as a national discourse that “has devolved to a level of cruelty that we haven’t seen before.” Cohen pressed Obama on the ape video specifically, alongside the White House’s labeling of those targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids as “domestic terrorists.”
Without naming Trump directly, Obama lamented that “there doesn’t seem to be any shame” among officials who once felt bound by “decorum” and “respect for the office.” He called the spectacle a “clown show” but insisted that ordinary Americans he meets while traveling still believe in “decency, courtesy, kindness.”
During the podcast appearance, Obama also praised Americans who have peacefully protested immigration enforcement operations, discussed electoral redistricting battles, and previewed his forthcoming presidential library, which is set to open in Chicago in 2027.
For now, Obama appears content to pick his battles — defending his family fiercely, working behind the scenes on elections, and leaving the daily punditry to others. As he put it to Remnick, the majority of Americans already find Trump’s behavior “deeply troubling.” He doesn’t believe he needs to remind them every day.
