Shortly before former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama addressed the Democratic National Convention, former President Donald Trump told CNN that Obama was a “nice gentleman” and that he respected the couple. Jon Stewart called Trump’s compliment “bulls**t” on his podcast “The Weekly Show,” positing that the reason why Michelle did not enter the 2024 presidential race was because of “vile” and “conspiratorial” attacks fanned by Trump.
“You could tell though she was wounded by the treatment that the Obama family, not just the president, but the entire family, she was really wounded by the, if we’re being honest, disgusting treatment, which continues to this day, of the Obama family and just the vile politics, not policy, not anything other than vile, conspiratorial, personal, disturbing [attacks],” Stewart said, agreeing with his guest, historian Jill Lepore, that Michelle could have won the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden stepped aside.
Trump saying he respected the Obamas, Stewart argued, didn’t necessarily make it true. “He was the leader of an absolute torrent and river of slime, and I imagine for her, she thought, we’ve given our pound of flesh to this endeavor and I don’t want any part of that.”
The former president’s compliments on CNN are a rare break from his usual programming of disparaging Obama and his record as president, calling him, among other things, “the most ignorant president in our history,” “a disaster,” and the “founder of ISIS.” Trump also promoted the conspiracy theory that Obama was not a real U.S. citizen and held a fraudulent birth certificate.
Obama has his own share of hits against Trump, mocking him as a petulant, grievance-filled narcissist in his convention speech, while Michelle accused him of benefiting from the “affirmative action of generational wealth.” The speeches displeased Trump, who was in form at a rally where he complained that “Barack Hussein Obama” and Michelle were taking “little shots” at him.