Barack Obama Shockingly Responds To Trump’s AI Video Depicting Him And Michelle Obama As Apes
Barack Obama has delivered a scathing rebuke of Donald Trump’s use of artificial intelligence to deploy racist attacks against his family.
In a wide-ranging interview published on Monday, 4 May 2026, the former President told The New Yorker that a viral video depicting him and Michelle Obama as apes represented a dangerous new low in political discourse.
Trump, 79, shared the video on his social media platform Truth Social in February, using artificial intelligence to superimpose the faces of Barack and Michelle, 62, onto the bodies of apes.
The clip was removed after an outcry, but the White House brushed off criticism at the time, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissing it as ‘fake outrage.’ The incident fed into a longer-running battle over Trump’s use of inflammatory and race-tinged content online, as well as the broader unease about how AI tools can be deployed in political attacks.
In the interview, Obama, 64, tried to separate the personal insult from what he sees as a more ‘troubling pattern’. He said he was used to being a target, but drew a clear boundary when it came to his wife and their daughters, Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24.
‘I don’t take it personally,’ he said, before adding that the family element is different. ‘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 went on to stress that he would not respond in kind. ‘I would never talk about somebody’s family in that way,’ he told the magazine.
Barack Obama Warns About AI Videos And ‘Video Game’ View Of War
Barack Obama’s criticism did not dwell for long on the racist imagery itself. He was notably more focused on what he views as Trump’s casual use of AI-generated videos to trivialise serious issues.
According to the former president, the Truth Social post was part of a growing stream of AI content shared by Trump, including clips that, in Obama’s description, appear to treat war ‘like a video game’ and others that show ‘excrement dumped on ordinary citizens.’
Without adopting the high-minded neutrality that politicians often favour, Obama made it clear he finds this behaviour disturbing rather than merely tasteless.
‘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, suggesting that his objection was not to being mocked, but to the way technology is being used to dehumanise and desensitise.
Barack Obama Still Campaigning As Congress ‘Obeys’ Trump
The former president’s remarks on the AI video slotted into a broader lament about the state of American politics and what he sees as the enduring gravitational pull of Trump over the Republican Party.
Obama told The New Yorker he is ‘dismayed’ by what he described as Congress’s obedience to the former Apprentice host. He did not dress it up as a neutral institutional concern.
The word ‘dismayed’ carries its own quiet judgement, and he left little doubt that he believes lawmakers have allowed Trump’s influence to shape their decisions far beyond what he considers healthy.
Even so, the hostility has not driven him into silence. As the National Enquirer has previously reported, Barack Obama has continued to campaign actively against Trump and the current administration, taking on a role more visible than that of most former presidents. He himself drew attention to that, arguing that people often overlook how unusual it is.
‘People aren’t looking at me in historical comparison to other Presidents,’ he said. ‘They don’t care about the fact that no other ex-President was the main surrogate for the Party for four election cycles after they left office.’
That level of engagement comes with a private cost. Obama acknowledged that his decision to stay so present in public life has caused friction at home with Michelle Obama, whose distaste for the political fray has been clear since she left the White House and wrote the memoir Becoming.
According to him, ‘[Michelle] wants to see her husband easing up and spending more time with her, enjoying what remains of our lives.’ He did not pretend that was an easy dispute to wave away. ‘It does create a genuine tension in our household, and it frustrates her,’ he admitted.
Obama struck a more forgiving note towards those who share Michelle’s impatience, saying he understands why supporters and loved ones wonder why he does not step back. But his continued presence, and his decision to address even something as degrading as an AI video depicting Barack Obama and Michelle as apes, suggest he has accepted that his post-presidency will not be a quiet one. The racist attacks have evidently hardened his resolve, ensuring that he will continue to be defined by a vigorous defence of American institutions and the protection of his family’s legacy.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
