Did he say this? "He tried to kill his own Vice President. Do you think he cares about you?" BARACK OBAMA
Executive summary
The widely circulated line "He tried to kill his own Vice President. Do you think he cares about you?" is a misquotation; Barack Obama did not say "he tried to kill his own Vice President," but instead warned that "If Donald Trump does not care that a mob might attack his own vice president, do you think he cares about you?" which is verified by C‑SPAN footage and a transcript referenced in fact‑checking reporting [1]. Posts and meme images repeating the shorter, harsher wording circulated on social platforms like Tumblr and iFunny, amplifying a distorted version of Obama’s original remark [2] [3] [4].
1. What Obama actually said — the accurate line and its sourcing
During a campaign appearance supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, Obama said, according to C‑SPAN video and a transcript, "If Donald Trump does not care that a mob might attack his own vice president, do you think he cares about you?" and that phrasing, not the harsher "tried to kill" formulation, is what multiple news organizations and the Harris campaign reported [1].
2. Where the misquote appears online — the social media trail
The altered quote has been posted in image form and as text across social platforms; examples collected in the reporting include a Tumblr post showing the shortened, misattributed line and several iFunny image posts sharing the phrase as an Obama quote, demonstrating the meme‑friendly channels where the misquote spread [2] [3] [4].
3. The factual backdrop Obama referenced — context in his speech
Obama’s original line invoked concerns about the January 6 attack and whether then‑President Trump showed concern when a mob threatened or assaulted officials such as Vice President Mike Pence; fact‑checkers note that Obama’s remark framed Trump’s negligence (that he “does not care that a mob might attack his own vice president”) rather than accusing him of an active attempt to kill Pence [1].
4. How fact‑checkers and primary sources settle the question
Independent verification relied on primary footage and transcripts: the USA Today fact‑check compared social posts to C‑SPAN video and concluded Obama was misquoted, documenting that the "tried to kill" wording does not appear in his remarks while the "does not care that a mob might attack" line does [1]. That direct comparison of primary source to social posts is the basis for saying the widely circulated short quote is false as attributed.
5. Why the misquote matters — political framing and incentives
Condensing Obama's conditional critique into an assertive accusation ("He tried to kill his own Vice President") changes the claim from a commentary on responsibility and rhetoric to an allegation of attempted murder, a transformation that serves polarizing narratives on both sides; meme creators and partisan actors benefit from punchier lines that provoke outrage, and platforms that prioritize engagement accelerate such distortions [2] [3] [4].
6. Alternative readings and caveats in the record
Reporting establishes that Obama strongly criticized Trump’s conduct and urged concern about democratic norms (a theme he stressed in major public appearances), but the sources provided do not support the specific "tried to kill" wording; they do, however, show Obama delivering severe rebukes of Trump in campaign and public settings, a broader context captured in other speeches and broadcasts [5] [6]. If additional primary footage or a different transcript existed showing the harsher phrase, this set of sources does not cite it.
7. Bottom line
The claim "He tried to kill his own Vice President. Do you think he cares about you?" is not an accurate direct quote from Barack Obama; the verifiable record shows a conditional statement about whether Donald Trump cared that a mob might attack his vice president, not an assertion that Trump "tried to kill" Pence, and fact‑checking reporting documents this misquotation and the meme channels that carried it [1] [2] [3].