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Former President Barack Obama took aim at the Founding Fathers ahead of America’s 250th anniversary, saying they held a "deep flaw" for their ties to slavery despite being "geniuses."
"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," said Obama in an interview Sunday with MSNOW.
The 44th president's appearance comes as most Americans prepare to celebrate the nation's 250th birthday on Saturday with patriotic events across the country, while Obama is using the milestone to deliver a more cautionary message about the state of American democracy.
OBAMA KNOCKS FOUNDERS AT PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEBUT BEFORE AMERICA’S 250TH: ‘FELL TERRIBLY SHORT’
Barack Obama speaks during the dedication of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)
"That does not negate [Washington’s] greatness, it simply acknowledges that there's a profound deep flaw in these Founding Fathers who were also geniuses and gave us these tools," Obama said.
"It’s that we're this mixed bag, we've got contradictions. And embody the country's contradictions," he added.
OBAMA KNOCKS FOUNDERS AT PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEBUT BEFORE AMERICA’S 250TH: ‘FELL TERRIBLY SHORT’
Former President Barack Obama visits Learning Through Play Pre-K in the Bronx borough of New York City on April 18, 2026. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
Obama has been making many media appearances leading up to and following the opening of his presidential center in Chicago earlier this month. The expansive center includes a museum, library branch, community programming and is intended as a legacy project tied to Obama’s political roots on Chicago’s South Side.
OBAMA KNOCKS FOUNDERS AT PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEBUT BEFORE AMERICA’S 250TH: ‘FELL TERRIBLY SHORT’
People watch as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally to kick off the Great American State Fair on the National Mall on June 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
During the center's opening ceremony, which attracted former presidents and Hollywood elites, Obama took a swipe at the founders.
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"The success of this experiment was never a given," Obama said in his speech, referring to the nation's founding.
"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 of rights, they did have the foresight, the genius, to provide us with a framework that allows each generation to make our union more perfect," he added.
Fox News Digital reached out to Obama's office for additional comment on Monday.
During Obama’s early political rise, researchers found that some of his White ancestors had owned slaves in the U.S., a discovery that has resurfaced periodically in political discourse, including in 2019 comments by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
"While a relative owned slaves, another fought for the Union in the Civil War," then-Obama spokesman Bill Burton confirmed to the Associated Press in 2007 of the upcoming president's family history.
Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.
