By: TPA News Desk | World News | Politics | www.thepointafricanews.com/world/politics

President Donald Trump has intensified his long-running campaign against former President Barack Obama, publicly demanding his arrest and imprisonment based on unsubstantiated claims of a “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine the 2016 election. The escalation includes Trump’s circulation of an AI-generated video depicting Obama in handcuffs and behind bars, a move widely condemned as a provocative and misleading political attack.

The latest wave of accusations, voiced by President Trump during a July 22, 2025, Oval Office meeting, follows a press release from his Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard. On July 18, 2025, Gabbard’s office asserted it had “revealed overwhelming evidence” that “President Obama and his national security cabinet members manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump.” Gabbard has announced a criminal referral to the Department of Justice (DOJ), alleging a “treasonous conspiracy” aimed at subverting the democratic process.

These claims specifically target the intelligence community’s assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election. While U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in 2017 that Russia actively sought to influence the election in Trump’s favor, Trump and Gabbard now contend that Obama-era officials deliberately fabricated or manipulated this intelligence to create a “Russia hoax” designed to delegitimize his presidency.

However, these allegations face significant and widespread skepticism. Obama’s post-presidential office swiftly dismissed Trump’s accusations as “bizarre,” “ridiculous,” and a “weak attempt at distraction.” Legal experts and independent fact-checking organizations have consistently debunked the “treason” and “coup” claims, highlighting their lack of legal basis and the absence of supporting evidence. They underscore that previous bipartisan investigations affirmed Russian interference, even if they found no collusion with the Trump campaign.

The use of an AI-generated video to visually portray the arrest and imprisonment of a former president has drawn particular criticism, with concerns raised about its potential to further inflame political divisions and normalize baseless attacks. Observers suggest the timing of these renewed accusations may also serve as a diversion from other pressing issues facing the administration. This ongoing narrative underscores a deepening polarization in American politics, characterized by increasingly aggressive rhetoric and the dissemination of unverified claims.