Obama Denounces Trump’s ‘Coup’ Accusations
Former President Calls Claims ‘Outrageous’ and ‘Ridiculous’
Barack Obama has forcefully rejected accusations from Donald Trump that he orchestrated a “coup” after the 2016 election by fabricating evidence of Russian interference. Obama’s office issued a rare statement calling the claims “outrageous” and a “weak attempt at distraction.”
Refuting ‘Nonsense and Misinformation’
Obama‘s team stated they typically do not respond to “constant nonsense and misinformation” from the White House. However, the severity of Trump’s allegations—that Obama attempted to lead a coup and committed treason over intelligence assessments of Russian interference—necessitated a direct rebuttal.
The statement specifically addressed an 11-page document released by Tulsi Gabbard, who heads national intelligence. Gabbard forwarded evidence of an alleged “treasonous conspiracy” by Obama administration national security officials for prosecution. The former president’s office countered that the document did not undermine established conclusions about Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election, a finding supported by a 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.
Trump’s ‘Leader of the Gang’ Claim
Trump made these pronouncements while meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.. Responding to a reporter’s question about who should be investigated based on Gabbard‘s report, Trump named Obama as the primary target.
“Based on what I read, and I read pretty much what you read, it would be President Obama. He started it, and Biden was there with him. And [James] Comey [the former FBI director] was there, and [James] Clapper [the former director of national intelligence] the whole group was there.”
—Donald Trump, Former U.S. President
“It was them, too, but the leader of the gang was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard of him?”
—Donald Trump, Former U.S. President
“This isn’t like evidence. This is like proof, irrefutable proof that Obama was sedatious [sic] that Obama … was trying to lead a coup, and it was with Hillary Clinton, with all these other people, but Obama headed it up.”
—Donald Trump, Former U.S. President
Trump also claimed Gabbard indicated she had “thousands of additional documents coming.” He urged attention to this, contrasting it with “nonsense,” in what appeared to be a redirection away from inquiries into files concerning Jeffrey Epstein.
Intelligence Assessments Under Scrutiny
Gabbard‘s report reportedly focuses on White House memos from the national security council, highlighting varying levels of confidence in assessments of Russian interference in the 2016 election. She contends that more confident assessments emerged post-election, which she interprets as manufactured intelligence designed to initiate a year-long “coup” against Trump.
These assertions of interference were later corroborated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s 2019 report and the 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report. In 2023, U.S. intelligence agencies reported that Russia continued its efforts to influence American elections, aiming to sow discord and undermine faith in democratic processes.
Fulton Armstrong, a former CIA analyst, commented on Gabbard‘s paper, calling it “obviously written with a pre-ordained conclusion.” He criticized its handling of intelligence confidence versus probability, labeling it “sloppy and manipulative.” Armstrong further described the document as amateurish, particularly its reference to “deep state officials,” which he believes undermines its credibility.
“The bigger problem is that Tulsi’s paper is such shit. Her reference to ‘deep state officials’ is amateurish, silly, and undercuts the whole damned document,” Armstrong told the Guardian in an email.
He added that while Gabbard may be clever in using precedents and confusion, the complexity of Russian election manipulation involving multiple intelligence agencies likely leaves enough evidence for any side to construct a one-sided political narrative.
