Barack Obama has claimed political discourse in America has evolved into a 'clown show' that many find 'deeply troubling'.
The former president made the bombshell statement during a new interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, which comes after a racist video of the Obamas was shared on President Donald Trump's social media.
The clip was posted on Trump's Truth Social account earlier this month and rightly sparked outrage.
It focused on the 2020 election - won by Joe Biden - and the fraud conspiracy claims that Trump supporters have long championed, despite these allegations being repeatedly squashed.
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An AI-generated segment depicting Obama and his wife, Michelle, as apes while 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' played concluded the clip. It has since been removed.
Obama has now broken his silence, though he did not name Trump in his response.
"First of all, I think 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. 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 added: "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?
"That's been lost."
After the video gained attention online, many accused Trump of being racist on X, as they slammed his 'unacceptable behaviour'.
The president himself responded to the backlash, but told reporters that he 'didn’t make a mistake' as he 'didn't see' the Obama part of the video.
Meanwhile, the White House appeared to downplay the incident.
Speaking to LADbible, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the clip posted on Trump's account was made by X user Xerias, who has also confirmed they made it themselves.
She stated: "This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.
"Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public."
Other political figures have also shared their thoughts as Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), responded to the clip, branding it 'disgusting and utterly despicable'.
This isn't the first controversial AI-generated video posted by Trump, who previously shared one of Obama on his knees while being handcuffed by the FBI, back in July.
He captioned the clip, 'no one is above the law' and the video also featured Biden and Nancy Pelosi, with Trump seen with Obama in the Oval Office while the Village People's 'YMCA' plays.
Topics: Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Social Media
Danni King