President Donald Trump’s MAGA allies were in a frenzy of conspiracy theories Friday after former President Barack Obama greeted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at a think-tank event in Toronto.
A video, posted by Carney on X, shows him shaking hands with the former president, before Obama also greets the prime minister’s wife, Diana Fox Carney. Obama was in town to deliver a keynote address at a gala for Canada 2020, a progressive think-tank that advocates for inclusivity. Obama and Carney have known each other on a professional level since at least 2008, when he was the U.S. president and the PM served as Governor of the Bank of Canada.
But the short clip appeared to cause extreme consternation among some of Trump’s allies who accused Obama of undermining the current administration by meeting with the leader of Canada.
“This is a coup,” Laura Loomer, a longtime Trump ally, wrote Saturday morning.
“What the hell is Obama up to? Hmmm….more subterfuge? It can’t be good for the US,” Buzz Patterson, an author and conservative columnist, wrote.
“Logan Act,” conservative X account Catturd wrote, referring to a law that prohibits unauthorized American citizens from negotiating with a foreign leader on behalf of the United States.
Obama has sparingly commented on his successor since leaving office in 2016. But this week, while promoting the debut of the Obama Presidential Center, the 44th president revealed to The New Yorker that responding to some of Trump’s major policy decisions and remaining a Democratic Party figurehead has weighed on his marriage.
The former president said that pressure has been a source of stress at home, particularly with his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama.
“It does create a genuine tension in our household, and it frustrates her,” he said.
The U.S. and Canada’s relationship is experiencing strain as a result of Trump’s tariffs and trade threats. Canada has seemingly moved closer to other allies, such as the European Union.
The outcry from MAGA also arrives nearly a year after the Trump administration accused Obama and his top administration officials of “treasonous” behavior.
Trump, who has refused to accept official U.S. government findings that Russia attempted to influence the 2016 election in his favor, has pushed the narrative that Obama’s top officials conspired to damage the validity of his campaign.
Obama’s spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush denied the Trump administration’s “bizarre” allegations of treason last year, and called them as a “weak attempt at distraction.”
Still, Trump has posted an AI-generated video of Obama being arrested on Truth Social and consistently reposted articles and clips making similar accusations.
Some of the president’s MAGA allies jumped on those accusations to raise further suspicions about Obama’s intentions in visiting Canada. Conservative activist Tom Fitton said Carney was welcoming Obama, the “notoriously corrupt former president who spied on, and tried to jail and destroy [Trump].”
Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian businessman who serves as a special envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, elevated Trump’s previous allegations in response to Carney’s video.
“Russiagate hoax originator President Obama panics and exits the shadows, hoping that international visibility will offer additional protection,” Dmitriev wrote.
