Barack Obama breaks silence on Donald Trump monkey clip

Barack Obama condemned the racist video released by US President Donald Trump and said that the incident was a disturbing reflection of today’s political climate.

Speaking in a newly published interview with US podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen, the former president addressed the clip – which features animated monkeys with Obama and Michelle Obama’s faces edited in – after it was briefly posted on Trump’s Truth Social account in early February.

Obama, 64, who did not mention Trump by name, said Americans still value “decency, civility (and) civility” despite social media amplifying what he described as a hateful “clown show.”

He also criticized the increasing lack of restraint in political discourse, stating that the standards once expected of public figures had now eroded.

“There used to be a sense of civility, and it’s gone,” Obama said.

The clip, which appeared at the end of a montage revealing unproven claims about the 2020 US election, was deleted after sparking widespread backlash.

Pressed by reporters the next day, Trump refused to apologize, insisting he had done nothing wrong and claiming he had not watched the entire clip before publishing it.

Obama’s wife, Michelle, 62, did not comment publicly.

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

“Please stop the fake outrage,” he added.

Shortly after, the White House issued a follow-up statement saying the post had been uploaded “in error” by a staff member and was removed once the error was discovered. The person responsible has not been identified.

When reporters pressed Trump on Feb. 12 about whether the employee had been “fired or disciplined,” Trump completely dismissed the idea.