‘Old Men Afraid Of Death’: Barack Obama’s Veiled Dig At Donald Trump

Last Updated:September 27, 2025, 16:21 IST

Obama said 80% of the world’s problems involve old men putting their names on everything, in comments that are seen as a veiled dig at Donald Trump

Former US President Barack Obama. (File photo)

Former US President Barack Obama said 80% of the world’s problems involve old men putting their names on everything, in comments that are seen as a veiled dig at Donald Trump, the current President.

“It’s fair to say that 80 per cent of the world’s problems involve old men hanging on who are afraid of death and insignificance, and they won’t let go. They build pyramids, and they put their names on everything and they get very anxious about it,” Obama said while speaking to historian David Olusoga at London’s 02 Arena.

“History is not short of those figures,” Olusoga said, adding that “neither is the present.” This is not the first time Obama has addressed the problem of aging leaders. During an event in Singapore in 2019, he said the world’s problems stemmed from old men “not getting out of the way”, according to The Daily Beast.

“If you look at the world and look at the problems, it’s usually old people, usually old men, not getting out of the way,” he said at the time. “It is important for political leaders to try and remind themselves that you are there to do a job. But you are not there for life, you are not there in order to prop up your own sense of self-importance or your own power.”

This came as Obama, 64, was included in Trump’s new ‘Presidential Walk of Fame’ at the White House Rose Garden, where ex-US President Joe Biden was represented by a picture of an autopen. Obama also criticised Trump for linking the use of Tylenol during pregnancy with autism.

Trump recently said taking Tylenol was harmful and suggested that pregnant women consult their doctors about reducing its use. His comments sparked significant backlash, with UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting urging women to disregard Trump’s advice.

“We have the spectacle of my successor in the Oval Office making broad claims around certain drugs and autism that have been continuously disproved,” he said. “The degree to which that undermines public health, the degree to which that can do harm to women who are pregnant, the degree to which that creates anxiety for parents who do have children who are autistic—which, by the way, itself is subject to a spectrum.”

Obama also warned about “creeping authoritarian tendencies” and said that the current tendency in the United States to believe that “‘we the people’ is just some people, not all people.

About the Author

Aveek Banerjee

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More

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