Former President Barack Obama has forcefully rejected Donald Trump’s latest accusations that he attempted to orchestrate a “coup” after the 2016 election, breaking his silence in response to what his office called “outrageous” and “ridiculous” claims.
Trump, speaking during a White House meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., accused Obama of leading a conspiracy to undermine his presidency, calling it “treason” and alleging that intelligence reports about Russian interference were “manufactured” to sabotage him.
In a rare public statement, Obama’s office fired back, 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. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
The statement also rejected claims made in an 11-page memo released last week by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who alleged a “treasonous conspiracy” by former Obama-era national security officials and recommended their prosecution to the Justice Department.
Obama’s office responded pointedly:
“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.”
Those findings, it noted, were supported in a 2020 bipartisan report from the Senate Intelligence Committee — then chaired by Marco Rubio, who now serves as Secretary of State under Trump.
Trump, however, doubled down during Monday’s press conference, declaring, “It would be President Obama. He started it,” when asked who should face prosecution. He added:
“This isn’t like evidence. This is like proof, irrefutable proof that Obama was sedatious [sic]… He tried to lead a coup. He’s guilty. This was treason.”
He claimed that Gabbard has “thousands of additional documents coming” to support the allegations and appeared to deflect attention from growing calls for the release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s case, saying, “You want to take a look at that and stop talking about nonsense.”
Gabbard’s report asserts that the Obama administration pressured intelligence agencies to skew conclusions in order to damage Trump. However, intelligence experts and critics have dismissed the report as misleading and politically motivated.
The document attempts to cast doubt on the intelligence community’s 2017 assessment that Russia interfered in the election to help Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton — in part by conflating the conclusion that Russia didn’t alter vote counts with the broader influence campaign involving hacks, leaks, and propaganda.
That intelligence assessment was later affirmed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 2019 report and the bipartisan Senate investigation published in 2020.
Fulton Armstrong, a former CIA analyst and national intelligence officer, slammed the Gabbard memo in comments to The Guardian:
“Tulsi’s paper was obviously written with a pre-ordained conclusion. Her reference to ‘deep state officials’ is amateurish, silly, and undercuts the whole damned document.”
Armstrong added that the report misuses intelligence terminology and relies on selective and misleading interpretations:
“She’s clever to use crappy precedents and confusion to make her case, but an issue like Russian manipulation of US elections… leaves just enough on the floor for a partisan hit job.”
Obama’s unusually direct response underscores how seriously his office views the escalating rhetoric from Trump, whose allies appear increasingly focused on targeting political opponents ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
