FACT CHECK: Did Barack Obama Say, ‘All This National Pride Stuff Gets On My Nerves’?

An image shared on Facebook claims to show a statement said by former President Barack Obama disparaging the Fourth of July caught on a hot mic in 2013.

Verdict: False

There is no record of Obama saying the quote. The claim stems from a satirical article.

Fact Check:

“God this holiday sucks! All this national pride stuff gets on my nerves,” the image quotes Obama as saying. The post alleges he “muttered” the statement while “believing that his mic was off.”

There is, however, no record of Obama making such a statement. Check Your Fact reviewed the transcript of his remarks during the 2013 Fourth of July Celebration on the White House’s South Lawn published by the Obama White House website, but found no instances of Obama saying the holiday “sucks.”

The former president can’t be heard saying anything negative about Independence Day or “national pride” in PBS NewsHour’s YouTube video of the speech either. (RELATED: Does This Image Show Michelle Obama Texting During The Pledge Of Allegiance?)

Had Obama said the statement attributed to him in the Facebook post, media outlets likely would have reported on it, but an internet search by Check Your Fact turned up no news reports about the alleged incident.

The claim appears to stem from a July 4, 2013, article published by the website Duh Progressive bearing the headline: “Obama on 4th of July: ‘I can’t believe I have to miss a good day of golf for this crap!’”

While Duh Progressive includes a disclaimer on its website stating it is a “political satire site,” social media users have been sharing quotes from the article without such a warning, seemingly believing them to be genuine.

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