Fact check: False claim that Barack Obama referred to his wife as 'Michael' in a speech

Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Barack Obama referred to his wife as Michael in a speech

In 2015, then-President Barack Obama delivered remarks about the Affordable Care Act, a law meant to expand affordable health insurance to Americans. Some social media users are misrepresenting a comment Obama made in that speech.

A Facebook reel shared Oct. 17 shows a clip of Obama saying, “I walk with my husband Michael and hold hands. It’s like a whole new world for me. Just walking and holding hands – something that one of our fellow Americans for years could not do."

Text above the clip reads, "I told y'all Michelle was Michael lmaooooo".

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The post generated over 1,600 shares in less than a week. Similar posts have amassed hundreds of interactions on Facebook.

But this post significantly misrepresents what Obama said.

The former president did not make this comment about his wife, Michelle Obama. He was quoting a letter from a Pennsylvania woman who had received treatment for her arthritis.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment.

Barack Obama's words taken out of context

Obama gave his remarks at the Catholic Health Association Conference in Washington, D.C., on June 9, 2015.

During his speech, he brought up the story of Debra Lea Oren, who had suffered from arthritis “so severe that it put her in a wheelchair.” He said she was able to get knee replacement surgery after obtaining affordable health coverage under the ACA, according to a White House transcript.

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Obama then quoted a letter Oren sent him.

“Debra couldn’t be here today, but she recently wrote to me and she said: 'I walk with my husband Michael and hold hands,'” Obama said. “'It’s like a whole new world for me. Just walking and holding hands – something that one of our fellow Americans for years could not do.'"

He was not referring to his wife.

PolitiFact and Reuters also debunked the claim.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Obama referred to his wife as Michael in a speech. In that 2015 speech, Obama was not talking about himself; he was quoting a letter from a woman who had received knee replacement surgery after enrolling in a health coverage plan under ACA.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim that Obama referred to wife as 'Michael'