Former president Barak Obama’s older half-brother, Malik Obama, has entered the 2024 presidential campaigning season.
The Kenyan native, who has dual citizenship in the family’s African homeland and in the United States, has taken to social media to throw his support behind Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump and take a potshot at his famous brother — despite the latter not running in the election.
Malik started by posting an old photo of himself and his brother on X platform on Sept. 3, captioned, “Fake A— when we were brothers.”
The tweet drew a flurry of support from Trump’s followers, urging Malik to “Speak your truth” and homophobic slurs at the 44th president.
Fake Ass when we were brothers pic.twitter.com/ViwRRl8El7
— Malik Obama (@ObamaMalik) September 3, 2024
The next day, Malik formalized his endorsement, echoing his 2016 stance, stating, “I am Malik Obama. I’m a registered Republican and I’m voting for President Donald Trump.”
The big brother’s vitriol for his father’s namesake runs deep, with him making outbursts ever so often just to remind people that he can’t stand him.
Like the one-time community activist, Malik had political aspirations, hoping to run in 2013 to be the mayor of Kogela, the Kenyan town where their father was born.
I am Malik Obama. I'm a registered Republican and I'm voting for President Donald Trump.
— Malik Obama (@ObamaMalik) September 4, 2024
According to Forbes, his desire to run was “inspired” by his American brother, who was then twice elected to the highest political seat in the United States. Malik said at the time his brother “challenged” him to get involved in his own local politics.
“When I look at the success that my brother has had in the US, I feel I would have let down my people if I do not follow in his footsteps and end their suffering through dedicated, honest and focused leadership,” Malik said in the Agence France Press.
Malik did not win his race.
But those feelings shifted dramatically by the time his brother’s terms had ended. Three years later, Malik would side with the man who floated the birther conspiracy around his brother, claiming that Barack, the first man of African descent to become president, was not actually an American citizen but was born in Kenya and was hiding it so that he could make it to the White House.
The New York Post interviewed Malik in 2016 about supporting the then-reality star over his brother’s pick, Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and he said, “I like Donald Trump because he speaks from the heart. Make America Great Again is a great slogan. I would like to meet him.”
He further said he had a “deep disappointment” in what his brother Barack’s administration accomplished during their three years, a complete 180 from his previous statements of being inspired by him.
He also said that Clinton and President Obama killed one of his closest friends, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Immediately, Trump heard about the endorsement and amped it up on social media and invited him to his debate against Clinton, a move intended to be a slap in the Clinton-Obama power team’s face.
Wow, President Obama's brother, Malik, just announced that he is voting for me. Was probably treated badly by president-like everybody else!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2016
Trump tweeted, “Wow, President Obama’s brother, Malik, just announced that he is voting for me. Was probably treated badly by president-like everybody else!”
While Trump supporters celebrated Malik for siding with their leader, who went on to win the election in that race, many in Kenya were outraged at what looked like betrayal.
“SHAME on Malik Obama, it is okay for you to support Trump but don’t blame Obama for your personal problems, grow up and be your own man,” one person tweeted at the time, according to Standard Media.
Someone else added, “Malik Obama should disclose how much he was paid to disown his brother n campaign for Trump.”
A third comment said, “Nothing to be proud of, Malik. It’s a shame you’re not as smart as your brother, Barack.”
CNN International correspondent Larry Madowo took to Facebook to criticize Malik Obama, blasting his character, saying, “Even his famous last name didn’t help him get elected in the country of his birth.”
He added, “I’ve experienced four Obamas up-close: Auma, Barack, Malik and Mark. Malik and Mark (who didn’t even use the Obama last name until recently) have spent the last few years knocking Barack while Auma is closest to the president” before saying Malik even asks to be compensated to talk about his brother.
In April 2023, he took to social media again and, like his recent post, called his little brother a “fake a—” and accused him of neglecting their father’s legacy.
The brother posted a British traveling document of their late father and insinuated that Barack and his team rejected his suggestion to store his dad’s passport as an archival element in his new presidential library.
He tweeted, “I tried to get fake a– to put this in his library but he wouldn’t.”
He later tweeted, “Fake a– a snake,” before encouraging people to purchase his autobiography, “Big Bad Brother from Kenya.”
After receiving pushback from the many who saw the document and believed that it belonged to his brother, flaring up Trump’s long-running birther conspiracy theory, he was forced to clarify and state to Reuters, “It’s my father’s passport.”
This would not be the end of his political pesky shenanigans. Months later, in August 2023, he started back on his brother again, posting a throwback picture, writing, “Me and Fake a— a snake (President Barack Obama) when he was a nobody.”
Me and Fake ass a snake (President Barack Obama) when he was a nobody. pic.twitter.com/ZQC8UeJ3zJ
— Malik Obama (@ObamaMalik) August 13, 2023
He followed it up with statements that might have given the world a peek into why he has so much disdain for his blood brother.
“I just wanted to be Fake a— a snakes (President Barack Obama)’s big brother but he rejected me. He (President Barack Obama) is fake as a snake and is a TRAITOR,” he said, later tweeting, “HE HAS SOLD HIS SOUL TO THE DEVIL.”
HE HAS SOLD HIS SOUL TO THE DEVIL
— Malik Obama (@ObamaMalik) August 14, 2023
Malik Obama’s support for Trump isn’t exactly a shock, though it’s uncertain if it will influence the 2024 election.
In contrast, Barack Obama’s backing has prove to be a game-changer. When he and Michelle Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention, Barack went viral with a quip about Trump’s obsession with crowd sizes.
Moreover, the involvement of Obama’s former campaign manager, David Plouffe, and other key figures from his 2008 and 2012 campaigns in the current political landscape signals a continuation of the “Hope” message that resonated with voters during his presidency, according to Reuters.
