5 Signs Donald Trump's Notorious Obama Envy Is Alive And Well In His Second Term

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It is well known that Donald Trump has a big and fragile ego, and it is his ego that drives his obsession with Barack Obama. The relationship between Trump and Obama is one of the oddest political rivalries in American history, and it all started with the "birther" lie. But the envy that Trump feels toward the 44th president really took off in 2011 when Obama roasted Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner. As New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow explained in 2017, "Trump is obsessed with Obama. Obama haunts Trump's dreams." Blow went on to explain that Trump is motivated by the idea of erasing Obama's name from the history books.  

Trump spent a good amount of time during his first term trying to convince the world that he is better than Obama, going so far as to claim that Obama was the reason for faulty coronavirus tests, even though the virus did not exist when Obama was president. In his second term, Trump continued to hold a grudge, and his envious feelings about Obama have seemingly grown over time. It likely doesn't help that in 2024 historians ranked Obama as the 7th greatest president, while Trump came in dead last (via Axios).

From the tacky gold detailing added to the Oval Office to demolishing the East Wing to build a ballroom, Donald Trump is recreating the White House in his image. One of the oddest additions is the "Presidential Walk of Fame" that features portraits of each president in garish gold frames with plaques detailing their time office. When it comes to Barack Obama, the information on his two plaques is questionable.

The plaques under Obama, according to CBS White House Correspondent Nancy Cordes, call him "one of the most divisive political figures in American History," and claim that the Affordable Care Act was "highly ineffective" (via X), despite the fact that uninsurance rates dropped significantly thanks to the legislation. They also say that the economy was "stagnant" under Obama, but Factcheck shows the opposite, stating that during Obama's 8 years the economy gained 11.6 million jobs and earnings increased by 4.2% after inflation. The plaques go on to claim that Obama spied on the Trump campaign in 2016 which, per Politifact, was proven false multiple times. 

On Trump's own plaque, also shared on X by Nancy Cordes, it claims that he overcame the "unprecedented Weaponization of Law Enforcement against him," ended "eight wars in his first eight months," and that he defeated inflation, declaring "THE BEST IS YET TO COME!" Comparing the plaques, it's clear that Trump is still trying to make the world believe that he is a better president than Obama was.

Barack Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, and it clearly got under Donald Trump's skin. On October 9, 2025, the day before the Norwegian Nobel Committee would announce that year's recipient, Trump sat in the Oval Office and complained to the press about Obama's win, saying "He got a prize for doing nothing" (via People). 

The 2025 loss appeared to have rattled Trump more than ever before. Revealed by the New York Times, Trump sent a text to Norway's prime minister on January 18, 2026 stating " Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace."

Trump's desire to obtain a Nobel Peace Prize to prove that he's just as good as Obama even factored into his actions in Venezuela. After invading the country and arresting Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, many believed that Trump would name opposition leader María Corina Machado as the interim president of the country, but that didn't happen. According to sources that spoke to The Washington Post, Trump refused to support Machado because she committed the "ultimate sin" and accepted the Nobel Peace Prize that he felt he deserved. Trump finally got an unearned Nobel Peace Prize when Machado presented hers to him at the White House. In return, Trump gave Machado a gift bag and, according to the Daily Beast, quickly forgot her name. 

Donald Trump loves to post AI-created imagery on social media, and while he usually sticks to delusional pictures of himself, he will share AI that attacks the people he despises. In July of 2025, a fabricated video of Barack Obama being arrested spread across TikTok before being shared by Trump on Truth Social. The video starts with a series of actual clips of Democratic politicians, including Obama, saying variations of the phrase, "no one is above the law" with the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" theme playing over it. 

From there, it cuts to Trump sitting in the Oval Office when FBI agents suddenly appear and place Obama in handcuffs with Trump smiling the whole time. It then cuts to Obama locked up in prison wearing an orange jumpsuit. All the while, Trump's favorite song to dance to, "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People, plays. In the days that followed the post, Trump accused Obama of treason, calling back on one of his favorite Obama conspiracies and saying, "They tried to rig the election, and they got caught" (via ABC News).

When Barack Obama first ran for president, much of his focus was on the American healthcare system. Obama pushed for the Affordable Care Act, fighting against lobbyists, Republicans, and even members of his own party to get the bill passed. And while the final version of the ACA, more commonly referred to as Obamacare, had lost many of the elements Obama wanted, it still managed to improve healthcare and medical insurance for millions of Americans. But to Donald Trump, it represented a win that he could not allow his rival to have.

Trump made ending the ACA a part of his first run in 2016, saying "Real change begins immediately with the repealing and replacing of the disaster known as Obamacare" at a November rally (via CNN). He came close to succeeding in his goal in 2017, but was thwarted when Senator John McCain voted against repealing the bill. Trump continued to claim he would repeal and replace the ACA during his 2020 and 2024 campaigns, though after nearly a decade of plotting, he admitted during his ABC debate with Kamala Harris that all he had were "concepts of a plan." 

Trump's goal to end the ACA had less to do with what the bill does, and more to do with it being known as Obamacare and standing as Barack Obama's crowning achievement. As CNN's Chris Cillizza explained in 2017, "It's named after the man –- former President Barack Obama (duh) -– who shepherded it into existence. And that's exactly why Trump wants to get rid of it."

In what may be Donald Trump's weirdest hang-up, the bronzer-obsessed president has insisted that he is in better physical health than Barack Obama. In an interview with Intelligencer, Trump was excited to push the narrative after Colonel James Jones, a physician's assistant who had previously worked for the Obamas said that Trump was in better health that Barack Obama. But the claim can be hard to believe when looking at the two men. 

Obama was known for being physically active during his time in office. An avid basketball player, he had the White House tennis court retrofitted so that it could also be used to shoot hoops. And while Trump plays golf, he does not exercise. In Mike Kranish and Marc Fisher's book, "Trump Revealed," they explain that "Trump believed the human body was like a battery, with a finite amount of energy, which exercise only depleted. So he didn't work out" (via CNN).

Throughout his second term, Trump, who is the oldest president in history, has consistently been spotted wearing makeup on his right hand. When he doesn't have the makeup on, bruising is clearly visible. The White House has insisted that this bruising is caused by Trump shaking hands with so many people every day, but this hasn't stopped the rumors. Adding to the concerns over the president's health is his constant bragging about taking cognitive tests and, on one occasion reported by the Daily Beast, admitting that the test was "very hard."