The MAGA-verse is fuming after a world leader welcomed former President Barack Obama with open arms.
On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted a warm greeting to Obama on X, writing, “Welcome back to Canada, President @BarackObama,” as the former president arrived in Toronto to deliver a keynote speech at a Canadian think tank.
The welcoming post sent the MAGA world into a frenzy, with some figures claiming that Obama, 64, was violating federal law.
“Why is Barack Hussein Obama meeting with world leaders while President Trump is in office?” far-right influencer Laura Loomer posted on X in response to Carney’s original post, which also included a clip of him greeting Obama with upbeat music in the background.
“This is a coup,” Loomer added.
Some, including conservative influencer Nick Sortor, argued that the former president should face consequences for allegedly violating the Logan Act, a U.S. federal law that prohibits private citizens from engaging in unauthorized negotiations with foreign governments involved in disputes with the United States.
Obama was not involved in any negotiations and was simply giving a speech at an independent think tank, a practice that is common among former leaders.
“Obama needs to sit down and figure out his freaking place before his a-- ends up in prison for violating the Logan Act,” Sortor posted on X, adding, “Trump is our President. You’ve been sidelined, Hussein.”
“This piece of s--t will get away with this trip. Logan act! Lock him up!” one user posted on X, while another corrected Carney, writing, “Obama is not President first off. Secondly this is a violation of the Logan Act.”
Referring to a former president as “President” is common in American culture as a courtesy title, and former presidents often deliver keynote speeches at universities, corporations, and nonprofit organizations.
Still, Carney’s omission of the title “former president” prompted some online users to correct him in all capital letters.
“It’s FORMER President zero,” one user posted, adding, “If he’s claiming to act on behalf of the American people in your ‘talks,’ he’s in violation of the Logan Act.”
Another user asked the Canadian prime minister, “@MarkJCarney so do you mean Barack Obama is still president since you just called him President Barack Obama?” tagging President Donald Trump, 79, and adding, “This should worry the US a little.”
The Canadian prime minister’s meeting with Obama comes a year after his meeting with Trump, during which he told the sitting president that Canada would never be “for sale,” after Trump suggested he wanted to make Canada the United States’ 51st state.
The Canadian Liberal Party leader has also sought to distance himself from the United States amid tensions with Trump, who said at the World Economic Forum in January that “Canada lives because of the United States,” in response to Carney’s speech about the “rupture” of the world order.
The U.S. president has also not hidden his distaste for Obama, who told The New Yorker on Monday that the president’s second term has drawn him back into politics “more than I would have preferred.”
In February, Trump admitted he approved a Truth Social post containing a racist video of Barack and Michelle Obama, but insisted he did not see the imagery depicting them as apes, refusing to apologize.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House and representatives for Barack Obama for comment.
