Donald Trump Accidentally Confirms He's Emotionally Devastated By Barack And Michelle Obama Diss

It appears that Donald Trump can't quite keep his story straight when it comes to his feelings about Barack and Michelle Obama. On August 20th, 2024, not long after the kickoff of the 2024 DNC, the presidential hopeful displayed a stunning reversal of his long-held opinions about the couple in an interview with CNN's Kristen Holmes. In the interview, Trump told Holmes: "I happen to like him. I respect him, and I respect his wife." 

These words held a lot of promise in terms of better relations between the two former presidents, but it was business as usual for Trump just one day later. In a widely shared video from a campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump seemingly had his feelings hurt as he disparaged the Obamas' choice to diss him at the DNC:

Trump: Did you see Barack Hussein Obama last night? He was taking shots at your president. And so is Michelle. They always say, please stick to policy, don't get personal. Yet they are getting personal all night long, these people. Do I still have to stick to policy? pic.twitter.com/sEJHgUOWtf

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 21, 2024

Playing the victim when he feels insulted is nothing new for Trump, but his lack of a rebuttal was surprising. Instead of firing back with sharp criticism of his own, Trump simply says: "They always say, please stick to policy, don't get personal. Yet they are getting personal all night long, these people. Do I still have to stick to policy?" Although he seems to be avoiding going blow-for-blow in this situation, this isn't the first time Trump has changed his tune about the Obamas, and it likely won't be the last. Given his past history with the Obamas, Trump may not be as devastated as he seems.

The feud between Donald Trump and Barack Obama has been simmering for over a decade, and Trump adjusting his attitude about the former president to fit the current situation is nothing new. In 2011, Trump got involved in Obama's birth certificate controversy and openly questioned the then-president's citizenship status. For example, he once tweeted about the validity of the birth certificate, citing an anonymous source:

An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that @BarackObama's birth certificate is a fraud.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2012

However, Trump completely changed course just five years later, publicly declaring the complete opposite of what he had been saying about Obama for years. According to AP News, Trump told a 2016 campaign rally audience: "President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period." However, he didn't stop there; Trump turned his declaration into an opportunity to knock his then-opponent, Hillary Clinton, down a peg. Trump said: "Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. I finished it." This reversal was a clever attempt to sway public opinion in his favor, and we wouldn't be surprised if his recent reaction to the Obamas' diss proves to be a calculated campaign move.