Former President Barack Obama has broken his silence following a wave of incendiary accusations made by Donald Trump, who claimed that Obama had conspired to rig both the 2016 and 2020 U.S. elections. In a rare public statement, Obama dismissed the claims as “a weak attempt at distraction,” pushing back firmly against what he called baseless political theater.

Obama’s spokesperson, Patrick Rodenbush, stated, “Our office typically refrains from responding to the constant stream of misinformation and nonsense out of respect for the institution of the presidency. However, these claims are so absurd that they warrant a response.”

Rodenbush also addressed a separate report released by Tulsi Gabbard, who accused former Obama administration officials of orchestrating a “treasonous conspiracy” and called for criminal prosecution. “There is absolutely nothing in that document that refutes the widely accepted conclusion that Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 election, but failed to alter any actual votes,” he said. “These findings were confirmed by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee under then-Chairman Marco Rubio in their 2020 report.”

The renewed accusations came during a White House meeting on July 22, where Trump met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. While fielding unrelated questions about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—who died in federal custody—Trump abruptly pivoted, shifting blame and focus to his predecessor. “The witch hunt you should be asking about is the one where they caught President Obama red-handed,” he told reporters. “He’s guilty, and it’s all there. Obama tried to steal the election. Even in other countries, they pulled off things no one saw coming.”