ISTANBUL

Former US President Barack Obama on Saturday indirectly addressed a video shared by President Donald Trump depicting him and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, calling it “deeply troubling.”

“Just days ago. Donald Trump put a picture of you, your face on an ape’s body.” Brian Tyler Cohen asked Obama about the image in an interview, and said it reflected a decline in public discourse. “How do we come back from the place that we have fallen into?”

“First of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” responded Obama. “It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction, but as I’m traveling around the country, as you’re traveling around the country, you meet people -- they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness.”

Obama said there is a “sort of clown show” playing out on social media and on television. “What is true is there doesn’t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sense of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office. So, that’s been lost.”

The White House defended the post with spokesperson Karoline Leavitt initially calling the criticism "fake outrage" Hours later, the video was removed from the president's Truth Social account, with reports citing an anonymous official who blamed a staffer for the video being posted.

The apparently AI-generated video was set to the "Lion Sleeps Tonight," a song made famous by Disney's The Lion King film. In it, the faces of the Obamas are placed atop the bodies of apes, widely smiling, perpetuating several tropes made against Black people.

The post mocking America's first Black president was made during Black History Month, a time dedicated to honoring the milestones, contributions and history of Black Americans.

The video faced sweeping backlash, including from Trump’s fellow Republicans.

Trump later condemned the video, but refused to apologize. "Of course I do," Trump said when he was asked by a reporter on Air Force One if he condemns the racist parts of the video.

But asked if he would apologize, Trump remained defiant, blaming the post on a staffer who he said posted the video on his behalf without him seeing the part that included the racist depictions of the Obamas, maintaining that he "didn't make a mistake."