Despite Michelle Obama staying out of the midterm election campaign, Donald Trump showed little restraint when he shared an AI-generated video that dragged the former first lady into a fresh political controversy. The clip has drawn criticism for its personal attack on her, particularly as it appeared only days after Barack Obama mocked Trump during a campaign stop. Trump has offered no explanation for sharing the video, leaving questions about whether he was taking another swipe at his former presidential rival or simply looking to stir up another storm on social media.

The video, which Trump shared on Truth Social, imagines UFC chief Dana White taking over as White House press secretary, with fighters being brought in to deal with journalists asking uncomfortable questions. What begins as a bizarre cartoon of a fictional press briefing takes a more personal turn when a reporter asks whether Michelle Obama plans to run for president in 2028.

A cartoon version of UFC heavyweight fighter Josh Hokit then declares, “Michelle Obama is a man,” repeating a false conspiracy theory that has circulated online for years. The claim has no factual basis, but its inclusion in a video shared by the president has once again put Michelle Obama in the middle of an ugly political controversy.

Barack Obama had already taken aim at Trump on the campaign trail

The video appeared shortly after Barack Obama had been making his own presence felt in the final stretch of the midterm campaign, using a rally in Georgia to criticize the Trump administration over the cost of living and mock the attention it had given to his remarks about White House renovations.

At an October 28 event supporting Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms, Obama questioned the administration’s priorities, suggesting that it had devoted considerable energy to responding to his Cheesecake Factory joke while Americans were more concerned about inflation and the rising cost of everyday essentials.

Obama’s comments were part of a wider effort to challenge the president’s record and remind voters of the issues Democrats wanted to put at the center of the election. His remarks also gave Trump another opportunity to become the target of criticism from a former president who has continued to campaign for Democrats.

Now, with Trump sharing a cartoon that drags Michelle Obama into an entirely different kind of political spectacle, the question is whether Barack Obama will respond or decide that the video does not deserve his attention.

There is no proof that Trump shared the video in response to Obama’s campaign remarks, so the timing may be coincidental. Still, the post has attracted attention for more than its political message, particularly because it repeats a baseless personal claim about Michelle Obama rather than focusing on any disagreement with her husband.

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Michelle Obama is once again pulled into an old conspiracy

The claim repeated in the cartoon is not new. The conspiracy theory about Michelle Obama’s gender has circulated online since the early 2010s, with manipulated photographs and misleading social-media posts repeatedly used to keep it alive. Hokit had also made a similar remark after the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House in June, when he said, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?” He later attempted to soften the comment, saying he thought he was giving her a compliment.

By including the remark in a video shared by the president, the old conspiracy has been pushed back into the national conversation. It is also not the first time the Obamas have been featured in controversial AI-generated material shared through Trump’s social-media account.

This is not the first time Trump has shared an AI-generated video involving the Obamas. In February, the crypto multi-billionaire posted a separate clip showing AI-generated images of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, drawing criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Republican Senator Tim Scott condemned the post, calling it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” The video was later deleted, with the White House saying an unidentified staff member had shared it by mistake.

The latest clip is different in its content, but it again places Michelle Obama at the center of a political post that has little to do with her own public activities.

Will the Obamas respond?

For now, there is no indication that Barack or Michelle Obama plans to respond publicly. Newsweek reported that it had contacted the White House, the former first lady and the creator of the video for comment, but no response was included in its report.

Barack Obama has continued to criticize Trump’s policies and political approach, but he has also had to decide when a response is worthwhile and when engaging with the president’s online activity would only give it more attention. Michelle Obama, meanwhile, has spent years dealing with personal attacks and false claims that have followed her long after leaving the White House.

The timing of Trump’s latest post inevitably invites comparisons with Obama’s recent campaign-trail criticism, but whether the president intended it as a response remains unknown. What is clear is that Michelle Obama has once again been pulled into a controversy she did not create, while the president has chosen to share a video in which a baseless claim about her is presented as a punchline.

The Obamas have not yet weighed in, leaving an obvious question hanging over the latest episode: will Barack Obama answer Trump directly, or will he leave the president’s own post to speak for itself?