• Obama criticizes a lack of decorum in political discourse following Trump's monkey video.
• The offensive video, featuring the Obamas with monkey faces, sparked widespread condemnation.
• Obama warns that such behavior could negatively impact Republicans in upcoming elections.

Former US President Barack Obama has responded publicly for the first time to a video shared on Donald Trump's social media account, which depicted him and first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys. He criticized the degradation of American political discourse into what he characterized as a "clown show." In an interview with podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama expressed that many Americans “find this behavior deeply troubling” and lamented the loss of “decorum and a sense of propriety” in politics, noting that such trends are unacceptable for the office of the presidency, according to Channel News Asia, South China Morning Post, and Al Jazeera.

The video, shared on February 5, prompted condemnation across the political spectrum, with the White House initially dismissing the outrage as "fake" before attributing the post to a staff error and removing it. The offensive clip, which is part of a larger narrative promoting false claims about Trump's 2020 election loss, featured the Obamas' faces edited onto the bodies of monkeys for a brief moment, fuelling criticisms of racism during a month dedicated to Black History, according to Channel News Asia, South China Morning Post, and Al Jazeera.

Obama suggested that the continued sharing of such content could adversely affect Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections, emphasizing that "the answer is going to come from the American people." He reiterated a growing concern that the current political environment lacks a necessary respect for office and decorum, which he views as a significant problem for the country, according to Channel News Asia, South China Morning Post, and Al Jazeera.