Barack Obama just argued that American politics has devolved into a complete “clown show” under the second Trump administration. He made the claim during an interview with host Brian Tyler Cohen on his “No Lie” podcast. Cohen specifically asked how the country could recover from what he called the “de-evolution of discourse,” citing several alarming examples of recent political behavior.
One of the most troubling incidents Obama addressed was the controversial video posted on President Trump’s Truth Social account earlier this month. The short clip briefly depicted the former president and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, as apes. Trump has refused to apologize for the video, even though it drew strong bipartisan backlash. The White House tried to shift the blame, claiming a staffer had “erroneously” posted it before it was taken down.
The Hill reported that Cohen also pointed to administration officials labeling two U.S. citizens who were fatally shot during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis as “domestic terrorists.” These examples clearly show why Obama feels we’ve lost our collective way.
I think that he was pretty calm about it
Obama believes that this aggressive behavior, which he described as “this sort of clown show that’s happening on social media and on television,” is deeply unpopular with the majority of the public. He emphasized that most people still believe in “decency, courtesy, [and] kindness,” even if the rhetoric successfully serves as a “distraction” for some.
He expressed concern that decorum and propriety are rapidly fading from the political sphere. “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 said.
I’m glad he has faith in “most” Americans. I do not. The clowns of @TNGOP has shown me there’s no going back they WANT to be thugs
— Pjoyfarrar
In First Public Comments Since Trump’s Racist Video, Obama Laments Lost Decorum https://t.co/hMXY5IEI0s
(@farrarpjoy) February 15, 2026
The former president then weighed in on the legislative efforts of the current Republican-controlled Congress, pushing back against their claims of effectiveness. According to Obama, their actual focus has been easier jobs: pouring huge amounts of money into ICE and their immigration agenda, cutting taxes for the really wealthy, and simply trying to “unravel a bunch of rules and norms and laws that are already in place.”
Obama drew a sharp, personal contrast to illustrate why maintaining democratic guardrails is so critical. “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,” he explained. But that level of unilateral power is “contrary to how I think our democracy is supposed to work.”
It’s a powerful reminder that restraint is a necessary part of leadership. He concluded by telling listeners, “I think we shouldn’t get discouraged by the fact that we have a tougher job.”
