President Donald Trump’s recent and disturbing repost of a video depicting Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes caused many across the nation to speak out against it. The former president finally addressed it in a recent interview, noting that it was something that seems to be representative of Trump and those who share his views. Political commentator Brian Taylor Cohen asked Obama, “How do we come back from all of this?”
“Well, first of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” Obama said at the outset of the 47-minute-long interview. “It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction. But as I’m traveling around the country, as you’re traveling around the country, you meet people, they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness.”
“There’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television, and what is true is that there doesn’t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office, right?” Obama said to Cohen. “That’s been lost.”
“But the reason I point out that I don’t think the majority of the American people approve of this is because ultimately, the answer is going to come from the American people,” he continued, adding: “We just saw this in Minnesota, in Minneapolis.”
The racist video of the former president and first lady was posted on Trump’s Truth Social media platform a little over a week ago. In his typical pattern, he expressed that he “didn’t make a mistake,” with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt offering a nonsensical defense. An unidentified staffer would also be blamed for the insult. It would also result in Trump being blasted by Democrats, and in a surprising move, by some Republicans who demanded that he take the video down.
