President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on Barack Obama this week, shifting from accusing the former president of treason to claiming that Obama now “owes” him — because of a Supreme Court ruling that benefits them both.
“Obama owes me big,” Trump said on July 25 while speaking to reporters outside the White House before boarding Air Force One for a trip to Scotland. “He owes me, and he knows it.”
Trump was referring to the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision that granted presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts in office. The ruling came in response to charges tied to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Now, Trump is suggesting Obama benefits from that same legal shield — and owes Trump a debt of gratitude for it.
Trump’s comments come amid growing scrutiny over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, which he’s tried to deflect by turning the spotlight on Obama. Trump and his allies have accused Obama of orchestrating what they call a “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine Trump’s presidency through the now widely accepted assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard added fuel to that fire during a press briefing last week, releasing newly declassified documents she claimed prove Obama pushed a “contrived narrative” about Russian interference to discredit Trump. Gabbard labeled it “textbook treason” and announced a new Justice Department “Strike Force” to explore legal action based on her findings.
These allegations stand in stark contrast to the conclusions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 2019 report and a 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee review, both of which confirmed that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump — though neither found evidence of votes being altered.
In response, Obama’s office pointed to the 2020 Senate report led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio. “Nothing in the documents released last week undermines the clear conclusion that Russia sought to influence the 2016 election,” the office said in a rare July 22 statement. “These findings were affirmed in a bipartisan investigation.”
Obama’s team dismissed Trump’s renewed attacks as political theater aimed at distracting from recent controversies — particularly the Justice Department’s July 7 memo closing the book on the Epstein investigation. The memo ruled Epstein’s 2019 jailhouse death a suicide and stated that investigators found no credible evidence of a hidden “client list,” contradicting widespread conspiracy theories.
In his remarks before leaving Washington, Trump doubled down on his belief that Obama committed “criminal acts” — but added that Obama would never be prosecuted thanks to the very immunity ruling that saved Trump himself.
“It probably helps him a lot — probably helps him a lot, the immunity ruling,” Trump said, implying that the Court’s decision shields both of them.
Obama’s office, typically silent on Trump’s provocations, issued a pointed rebuke: “Out of respect for the office of the presidency, we normally do not respond to the nonstop stream of misinformation coming from this White House. But these latest claims are outrageous enough to deserve one.”
