Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Feb 15: Former US President Barack Obama has indirectly criticised a racist video shared on President Donald Trump’s social media account, saying that the “shame” and “decorum” that once guided public officials appear to have eroded.

The controversial clip, posted on Trump’s Truth Social platform, included an image depicting Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. The video, set to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight, was part of a broader post repeating unfounded claims about voter fraud in the 2020 US election.

The post drew sharp criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Senator Tim Scott described it as “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House”. The White House initially dismissed criticism as “fake outrage”, but later said the post had been shared by a staff member and deleted.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama did not mention Trump by name but addressed concerns about the tone of political discourse in the United States.

“It’s important to recognise that the majority of the American people find this behaviour deeply troubling,” Obama said. “It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction.”

He added that while travelling across the country, he continued to meet Americans who believe in “decency, courtesy, kindness”.

“There’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television,” he said. “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. That’s been lost.”

Trump told reporters he “didn’t see” the part of the video depicting the Obamas and said he had not made a mistake.

During the 47-minute podcast, Obama also discussed immigration protests, electoral redistricting and progress on his presidential library in Chicago, which is scheduled to open next year.