Vidéo raciste et raids de l'ICE: Le réquisitoire cinglant de Barack Obama contre les dérives de Trump
Barack Obama deplored the "clown show" offered by the American political class after Donald Trump shared a racist video depicting him as a monkey, and harshly criticized anti-immigration operations that he said were worthy of a dictatorship.
Rarely seen in the media, the former Democratic president (2009-2017) spoke out in a political podcast broadcast Saturday night where he expressed concern about the drift of the United States under his Republican successor.
Left-wing political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen questions him in particular about the "degradation of American political discourse" and cites as an example the video widely denounced as racist that was posted and then deleted from Donald Trump's account earlier this month on the Truth Social network.
The majority of Americans "find this behavior deeply troubling," Mr. Obama replied, without explicitly mentioning the video or his Republican successor.
"There is a kind of clown show taking place on social media and television, and what is true is that it does not seem to cause any shame among people who previously felt that one should show a certain decency, a sense of propriety and respect for the office, right? That has been lost," the former president elaborates.
The video, to which he had not yet reacted, depicts the faces of Barack Obama, the country's first black president, and his wife Michelle Obama on the bodies of monkeys, sparking widespread criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.
Donald Trump downplayed the criticism and claimed he had not seen the relevant part of the video, with the White House stating that a member of its staff was responsible for the release.
The billionaire harbors a particular animosity toward Barack Obama, a figure very popular with Americans. He refers to him only as "Barack Hussein Obama," using his middle name, and has contributed to spreading conspiracy theories about the Democrat's nationality.
During his campaign, the Republican leader had made numerous violent statements against immigrants and spread false information with racist undertones.
"Hope"
In the same interview, Barack Obama was very critical of the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Protection in Minneapolis, up until the end of their deployment this week.
"The misconduct of federal government agents is deeply concerning and dangerous," he asserts, referring to behavior "that we have seen in the past in authoritarian countries and dictatorships."
Since December, several thousand federal police officers - often masked - have multiplied anti-migrant raids and arrests, sparking revolt among many residents of this Democratic stronghold which has become the epicenter of hostility to the repressive immigration policy of the American president.
Two American citizens who were trying to oppose ICE, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot dead there by federal agents last month.
Mr. Obama had already criticized ICE's actions last month, calling for a "surge" from citizens as fundamental values are "under attack".
In the podcast, he praises the resistance to these operations: "These are citizens who are saying, systematically and in an organized way: 'this is not the America we believe in,' and we will resist, we will fight back with the truth, and with cameras and with peaceful demonstrations."
"This kind of heroic and persistent behavior from ordinary people, despite the sub-zero temperatures, should give us hope," adds Barack Obama.
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's right-hand man, announced Thursday the end of the operation in Minnesota. The Democratic opposition continues to demand sweeping reforms to ICE's operations, including ending mobile patrols, prohibiting agents from concealing their faces, and requiring a warrant before arresting a migrant.
To that end, Democratic leaders in Congress are refusing to approve the 2026 funding proposal for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Commentaires (6)
Participer à la Discussion
Règles de la communauté :
💡 Astuce : Utilisez des emojis depuis votre téléphone ou le module emoji ci-dessous. Cliquez sur GIF pour ajouter un GIF animé. Collez un lien X/Twitter, TikTok ou Instagram pour l'afficher automatiquement.