Barack Obama

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary this week, former President Barack Obama is taking aim at the nation’s “genius” Founding Fathers, saying they held a “deep flaw” for their ties to slavery.

On Sunday, Obama told Michele Norris of MS NOW: “I think sometimes we get confused in thinking that these two stories are separate. They’re intertwined, right? Which is why it’s possible for me to be a great admirer of George Washington, and also acknowledge he was a slaveholder.”

“And that does not negate his greatness. That simply acknowledges that there is a profound, deep flaw in these Founding Fathers, who were also geniuses and gave us these tools.”

George Washington in “The Prayer at Valley Forge,” by Arnold Friberg

“Which is true of all of us, right? It’s true of every president. We’re this mixed bag. We’ve got contradictions and embody the country’s contradictions.”

WATCH:

Obama:

It is possible for me to be a great admirer of George Washington and also acknowledge he was a slaveholder. And that does not negate his greatness.

That simply acknowledges that there is a profound, deep flaw in these Founding Fathers, who were also geniuses and gave us… pic.twitter.com/MlI5yyHkKN

— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 29, 2026

This is not the first time this month Obama has targeted the Founding Fathers for slavery.

At the opening of his presidential center in Chicago on June 18, Obama noted: “In forming our Union, the Founders fell terribly short of the Declaration’s promise, leaving slavery intact, allowing states to restrict the franchise to white men who owned property.

“But in drafting a Constitution and a Bill or Rights, they did have the foresight, the genius, to provide us with a framework that allows each generation to make our union more perfect.”

WATCH:

Obama: “The Founders fell terribly short of the declaration’s promise, leaving slavery in tact, allowing states to restrict the franchise to white men who owned property. But in drafting a constitution and bill or rights, they did have the foresight — the genius — to provide us… pic.twitter.com/OqJxHY7tNi

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 18, 2026

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