'Bizarre, ridiculous, weak attempt at distraction': Obama hits back after Trump’s ‘treason’ claim - Here's his office said

Former president Barack Obama’s office has dismissed Donald Trump’s accusation that Obama committed “treason” during the 2016 election, calling the claims “bizarre,” “ridiculous,” and “a weak attempt at distraction”. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said, “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."

He added, "These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. 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. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”

What did Trump accuse Obama of?

Trump, speaking from the Oval Office during a meeting with Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr, said Obama had been “caught cold” and called him “the leader of the gang”. “This was treason. This was every word you can think of,” Trump said, adding, “They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody’s ever even imagined, even in other countries.”

He claimed his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, had reviewed documents showing Obama directed efforts to cover up evidence that “Russian and criminal actors did not impact” the 2016 election through cyberattacks.

What does the evidence actually show?

Obama’s administration never claimed Russian hackers altered vote counts. Instead, officials said Russia interfered in the 2016 election by using social media influence campaigns and by hacking and releasing Democratic emails via Wikileaks. That conclusion was backed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 2019 report and a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee investigation in 2020, the same one referenced by Obama’s spokesperson.

Trump dodges Epstein question with more attacks on Obama

While in the Oval Office, Trump was asked about his former social ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender. Rather than answer, Trump responded, “The witch hunt you should be talking about is that they caught President Obama absolutely cold.”