United States President Donald Trump has called for the arrest of former President Barack Obama, repeating unproven claims that the Democrat’s administration intentionally misled the public in its assessment of the 2016 election.
At a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, Trump accused Obama of helming a criminal conspiracy. “The leader of the gang was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama,” Trump told the media. “He’s guilty. This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody’s ever even imagined, even in other countries.”
Trump’s latest remarks about the “Russia hoax” come just days after his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, released a press release about the subject. In the statement, Gabbard’s office asserts she “revealed overwhelming evidence” that “President Obama and his national security cabinet members manufactured and politicised intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump”. However, the veracity of Gabbard’s report has been widely questioned. Critics have pointed out that she appears to confuse different conclusions.
Gabbard’s argument that the scrutiny over the 2016 election was criminal has prompted uproar, particularly from the Democratic Party. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia even questioned whether Gabbard should remain in her role as director of national intelligence. “It is sadly not surprising that DNI Gabbard, who promised to depoliticize the intelligence community, is once again weaponizing her position to amplify the president’s election conspiracy theories,” he wrote on social media.
Obama himself released a statement through his office, calling Gabbard’s claims “bizarre”. “Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,” it said.
Trump, however, has doubled down on Gabbard’s assertions, even reposting a video generated by artificial intelligence (AI) showing Obama being handcuffed in the Oval Office, while the song YMCA played. “This is, like, proof – irrefutable proof – that Obama was seditious, that Obama was trying to lead a coup,” Trump said.
Experts have long speculated that Trump may use a second term as president to settle political scores and seek retaliation against his foes. The controversy surrounding Trump’s claims about the 2016 election comes as he faces backlash from members of his base over his handling of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.