Obama rebukes Trump's accusations in rare response
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Former President Obama speaks during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on Aug. 20, 2024. Photo: Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
Former President Obama swung back at President Trump on Tuesday in a rare response to unfounded accusations.
The big picture: Trump peddled conspiracy theories about Obama, telling reporters the former president tried to rig the 2016 presidential election.
What they're saying: "Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response," Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesperson for Obama, said in a statement.
- "But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one," he added. "These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction."
- "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," Rodenbush said.
- The findings, he continued, were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.
Context: Trump accused Obama, former President Biden, Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper of trying "to rig an election," adding without merit that "they got caught."
- Trump was referencing a new memo from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accusing the Obama administration of a "treasonous conspiracy" to sabotage Trump's presidency in 2016. It centers on findings from the Obama-era intelligence community that Russia didn't alter vote tallies by hacking election infrastructure.
- Gabbard alleged that senior Obama officials suppressed or manipulated these internal assessments to support a broader narrative that Russia had intervened in the 2016 election to help Trump.
- "This is like proof, irrefutable proof, that Obama was sedatious, that Obama was trying to lead a coup," Trump said Tuesday, appearing to mispronounce "seditious."
Reality check: No serious investigation ever claimed Russia changed actual vote tallies, Axios' Zachary Basu reports.
- Special counsel Robert Mueller and the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee — where Secretary of State Marco Rubio was a senior member — both concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump win.
Go deeper: Trump's forever grudge ties Epstein files to Russia "hoax"
