Barack Obama on Speaking Out Against Trump and That Racist AI Ape Video: ‘I’d Never Talk About Somebody’s Family in That Way’

In a recent interview with the New Yorker, Barack Obama explained his reaction after an AI video was posted to Donald Trump‘s Truth Social account in February that depicted the former president and first lady, Michelle Obama, as apes.

“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.” According to the article, Obama said he was more concerned about AI-generated videos Trump has posted that treat war “like a video game” and show “excrement dumped on ordinary citizens.” “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,” he said.
 
Obama previously spoke out against the AI ape video when it was posted, saying that it’s “important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling.”

“You know, it is true that it gets attention. 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, kindness. And there’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television,” he said during an appearance on Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcast. “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? So that’s been lost.”

In the New Yorker article, Obama also added that he did not want to become 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,” Obama said. “The media environment is so difficult that people don’t even know all the stuff I am doing, right?” he said. “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?”

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