Obama reacts to ape video posted by Trump: ‘Would never talk about somebody’s family in that way’
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Former president Barack Obama has spoken out against an AI-generated video shared by President Donald Trump’s Truth Social page that showed him and Michelle Obama as apes.
“I don’t take it personally,” Obama said while speaking with The New Yorker. He, however, asserted that when someone targets his family, he does not like it.
Obama says he expects from his political foes to not target his family
“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,” he mentioned.
The Democratic party member further claimed that he would “never talk about somebody’s family in that way,” as he went on to add: “I mean, I’m a fair target in the sense of, yeah, you can feel free to pick on me, because I’m your own size.”
Obama worried about AI videos shared via Trump's account
During the interview, Obama reportedly expressed his concern more about the AI videos shared via Trump’s social account that depict war “like a video game” and show “excrement dumped on ordinary citizens.”
Elsewhere during the interview, the 44th president of the US stated that he did not see himself as a political commentator.
“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,” the 64-year-old noted.
Obama also added that “the media environment is so difficult that people don’t even know all the stuff I am doing, right? And, I think, when they do see me, then the sense is ‘Well, why isn’t he doing that every day instead of just during a midterm election, or during a referendum campaign around gerrymandering, or what have you?’”
Obama thrashed Trump for having no shame
Meanwhile, this was not the first time Obama has addressed the ape video.
Earlier during an appearance on Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcast, he had said, “It’s true that it’s a distraction. But, you know, as I’m traveling around the country, as you’re traveling around the country, you meet people. They still believe in decency, courtesy, and kindness. And there’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television.”
Obama then slammed Trump for not having “a sense of propriety and respect for the office” as he added, “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.”
