Washington, DC [US], February 15 : Former US President Barack Obama described American politics under the second Trump administration as a "clown show" in an interview, stating that much of the recent rhetoric from the White House has troubled a majority of Americans, The Hill reported.
Obama made the remarks during an appearance on Brian Tyler Cohen's "No Lie" podcast published Saturday, where he addressed a controversial video posted earlier this month on President Trump's Truth Social account. The clip briefly showed Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama depicted as apes.
Trump declined to apologise for the post despite widespread criticism from both parties. The White House attributed the content to a staffer's "erroneous" action and removed it shortly after.
"I think it's important to recognise that the majority of the American people find this behaviour deeply troubling," Obama told the host, The Hill reported.
Cohen raised concerns about the "de-evolution of discourse," citing the video and the administration's description of two US citizens killed during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis as "domestic terrorists."
Obama suggested that such language serves mainly as "distraction," while insisting that most citizens "still believe in decency, courtesy, [and] kindness."
"There's this sort of clown show that's happening on 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, right? So that's been lost," he continued.
The former president rejected the idea that Republicans simply pursue what they desire, noting that the GOP has not "actually codified or institutionalised anything" beyond the so-called One Big, Beautiful Bill since taking control of Congress.
"They have poured a huge amount of money into ICE and their immigration agenda, and they've cut taxes for really wealthy people, and now they're trying to unravel a bunch of rules and norms and laws that are already in place; that's an easier job," he said. "I say that because we should accept the responsibility and the challenge that our job is going to be a little bit harder," The Hill reported.
Obama admitted past Democratic reluctance to dismantle certain institutional obstacles but warned against mirroring Republican tactics.
"I don't want us to simply duplicate the behaviour on the other side. I don't want us to have a slash-and-burn strategy where we don't care about the rule of law or the guardrails around our democracy. We start lying and having no regard for the truth, the way the other side seems to be comfortable with right now, because if that's how we fight, then we lose what we're fighting for," he said.
Addressing voter frustration that Democrats are not pushing back forcefully enough, Obama defended a measured approach.
"Sometimes I think we're tough on Democrats," he said.
"When I was President of the United States, I suppose I could have simply unilaterally ordered the military to go into some red state and harass and intimidate a governor there or cut off funding for states that didn't vote for me, I could have exercised that prerogative, but that is contrary to how I think our democracy is supposed to work, and I think we shouldn't get discouraged by the fact that we have a tougher job," he said.