The High Road and the High Skies: Obama Tackles Racist AI and the Alien Question
If you needed further proof that we are living in the strangest timeline imaginable, look no further than Barack Obama’s press tour this week. In a single news cycle, the 44th President found himself addressing two wildly different spectrums of reality: the grim, subterranean lows of political deepfakes and the literal high possibilities of extraterrestrial life.
It’s a duality that feels uniquely tailored for today’s society, a collision of archaic bigotry fueled by futuristic tech, balanced against the age-old question of “are we alone?” And true to form, “No Drama Obama” navigated both with the sort of cool detachment that has become his signature.
First, the heavy stuff. During a recent appearance on the Brian Tyler Cohen podcast, Obama was asked to respond to a disturbing development on Truth Social. An AI-generated video, posted to Donald Trump’s account, depicted the former President and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. It was a digital resurrection of a centuries-old racist trope, repackaged with 21st-century technology.
For many, the video was a flashpoint of outrage. But Obama’s response was less about anger and more about a disappointed sociological observation. He didn’t take the bait; he diagnosed the culture.
“It is important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” Obama stated. He acknowledged the strategy behind the cruelty, noting, “It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction.”
But then came the pivot to what he sees as the crumbling architecture of political respectability. He described the current online climate as a “clown show,” lamenting the total erosion of shame in the public square.
“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,” he said. “A sense of propriety and respect for the office, right? So that’s been lost.”
Obama juxtaposed the digital nastiness against the reality he sees on the ground: Americans who still believe in “decency, courtesy, and kindness.”
Then, just as the conversation seemed heavy, the script flipped to the cosmos. In another part of the interview, Obama addressed a question that has plagued conspiracy theorists and sci-fi writers for decades: Are aliens real?
“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them,” Obama said, dropping the bombshell casually. “They’re not being kept in… Area 51. There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the President of the United States.”
Check out the full interview.
