Former President Barack Obama criticised a video shared by President Donald Trump that depicted him and his wife Michelle as apes.
Speaking to podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama said such provocative behaviour draws attention but does not reflect the values of most Americans.
“Personally, I think it is important to recognise the majority of the American people find this behaviour deeply troubling. It is true it gets attention, it’s true it is a distraction, but as I travel around the country, you meet people and they still believe in decency, courtesy and kindness,” he said.
Obama added, “There’s this sort of clown show happening on social media and television. What is true is that there doesn’t seem to be any shame among people who used to feel you had to have decorum, a sense of propriety, and respect for the office. That’s been lost.”
Obama’s response was widely praised, with Instagram users describing his replies as calm, graceful, and presidential.
Cashmase wrote, “The etiquette in his responses has always remained calm, graceful, and the definition of presidential.”
Fiona added, “When President Obama speaks… we listen. Wisdom hits different when it’s real.”
The remarks come after Trump refused to apologise, blaming a staffer for including the footage.
According to BBC, the President told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had not seen the final moments of the 62-second clip, which was later deleted after backlash.
The video focused mainly on 2020 voter fraud claims but ended with the Obamas depicted as apes to the tune of The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
“I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of picture people don’t like. I wouldn’t like it either, but I didn’t see it. I just looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud,” Trump said.
Asked if he would apologise, he told ABC News, “No, I didn’t make a mistake. I look at a lot of thousands of things, and I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine.”