Huge Scandals That Have Rocked The Obama Family

No president exits the White House with a controversy-free record. It just comes with the territory. And Barack Obama and Michelle Obama were no exception. However, no controversy is created equal. To many commenters, the scandals surrounding the Obamas that the media focused on reflect a simpler time for American politics, one where fashion choices and food preferences made headlines. Nowadays, they're often brought up in contrast to the scandals involving Donald Trump and his family.

"Yeah Trump does bad stuff sometimes but do you remember when Obama wore that tan suit," one user wrote on X, previously known as Twitter, in March 2025. However, others believe the media fixated on trivial matters when Barack deserved real criticism in some areas. "Obama wears a tan suit while announcing that he is going to use military action against ISIS and the media was more preoccupied with the suit's color than the actual news of foreign US military intervention," another X user argued.

Michelle's outfit choices have also been met with harsh criticism. But she also caused uproars over more serious matters, including breaking royal protocol on her first trip to the U.K. as first lady and making eyebrow-raising statements about her pride in the United States. The Obamas have handled the rumors surrounding them with grace and humor, and the same is largely true for their controversies. Barack has even joked about his infamous tan suit. The current state of American politics does make some of the Obamas' controversies sound like silly jokes.

In May 2009, Barack Obama found himself the subject of unwanted attention when he ordered a burger with Dijon mustard on it. "Just your basic cheddar cheeseburger, medium well. I just want mustard. No ketchup. If you've got like a spicy mustard or something like that, or a Dijon mustard or something like that," he said in a clip Sean Hannity featured on his Fox News show. It was a huge scandal, as conservatives everywhere were appalled at the un-Americanness of the then-president.

Hannity could hardly contain his repugnance for Obama's choice of condiment. In his eyes, that only proved he was out of touch with the American people. "I think the president watches a little too much television," he said, before showing a clip of a classic Grey Poupon Dijon mustard commercial featuring two pompous British men. "All right, I hope you enjoy that fancy burger, Mr. President," he concluded the segment.

Hannity's fellow Fox News presenter Laura Ingraham echoed his sentiment, but instead of focusing on what Obama put on his burger, she was more concerned with what he left out. "What kind of man orders a cheeseburger without ketchup but Dijon mustard?" she said on "The Laura Ingraham Show" (via Media Matters for America). The uproar was such that experts felt compelled to weigh in. "There's nothing pretentious about Dijon mustard," Barry Levenson, founder and curator of the Mt. Horeb Mustard Museum, told the Chicago Tribune. "It's a very simple product."

Five years after the Dijon mustard brouhaha, Barack Obama drew criticism over his fashion choices. During a press conference to address his administration's response to the war against ISIS in Syria in August 2014, he dared to wear a tan suit. Social media had a field day. "This is what happens when Obama bypasses Congress to purchase a suit," journalist Philip Klein tweeted. Not everyone hated it, though.

"People, it's two days before labor day weekend. Let Obama wear a khaki suit," another netizen quipped, referring to the de facto end of summer when light-colored clothing is considered most appropriate. It may sound like a joke, but the buzz surrounding Obama's tan suit really turned the event into a controversy warranting its own Wikipedia page. This is largely because social media users weren't the only ones preoccupied with Obama's attire.

Political commenters also gave their two cents — often not jokingly. "Is this in an effort by the political gurus to make him look warmer?" former Fox News host Lou Dobbs wondered (via CNN). The problem seemed to have been partly created by Obama himself, who had previously laid out his apparel preferences. "You'll see I wear only gray or blue suits," he told Vanity Fair in 2012. "I'm trying to pare down decisions. ... Because I have too many other decisions to make." Thus, his detour from tradition caused many to think he was trying to send a cryptic message. Who knows? Maybe he was. 

Barack Obama wasn't the only Obama to cause a stir over his fashion choices. Years before his faux pas, Michelle Obama was at the center of a similar controversy. And hers was a lot more permanent since it involved her first official portrait as first lady. In February 2009, Michelle posed for the photo in a black sleeveless Michael Kors dress adorned with a pearl necklace. Many commentators criticized her decision to bare her toned shoulders and arms, deeming the look too informal for a first lady.

The portrait came just a week after Michelle donned a purple sleeveless dress during Barack's first congressional address. People were about to lose it with her penchant for baring her arms. "Oh my god," former editor-in-chief of Glamour magazine Cindy Leive told The New York Times at the time. "The First Lady has bare arms in Congress, in February, at night!" Critics struggled to understand why Michelle opted to expose her arms even when the occasion called for warm attire.

"One reader summed it up better than most of them. She talked about how the season is winter, the occasion was business and a sleeveless dress was the wrong style at the wrong time," the then-style reporter for the Chicago Tribune said (via ABC News). However, others defended Michelle's fashion preferences. Jackie Kennedy's social secretary, Letitia Baldridge, recalled how the late former first lady also often wore sleeveless dresses. "It was fine then and is fine now," she told HuffPost.

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's first encounter with the British royal family came early in the presidency. In April 2009, the then-president and first lady flew across the Atlantic to meet the late Queen Elizabeth II — and Michelle managed to cause controversy yet again. While talking at a reception, Michelle was captured briefly placing her hand on the queen's back. As royal experts and fans are well aware, no one is supposed to touch the monarch. Michelle wasn't exactly unaware of the protocol, but she wasn't entirely aware of it either.

After a long flight, she just did what felt natural to her. "Forget that she sometimes wore a diamond crown and that I'd flown to London on a presidential jet; we were two tired ladies oppressed by our shoes," the former first lady revealed in "Becoming," her 2018 memoir. "I then did what's instinctive to me anytime I feel connected to a new person, which is to express my feelings outwardly. I laid a hand affectionately across her shoulder."

The faux pas seemed to matter more to observers than to the queen herself. While Michelle was widely criticized, Elizabeth didn't seem to mind too much. After all, she reciprocated Michelle's touch by placing her own hand on the small of her back. It didn't go unnoticed. "She's not known for this kind of thing," the late royal expert Charles Mosley told CNN, calling Elizabeth's actions "astounding."

If Barack Obama was unfairly deemed un-American for his choice of burger condiment, Michelle Obama's critics had a better argument against her in February 2008. Speaking in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the campaign trail, Michelle made a controversial statement about her pride in the U.S. "People in this country are ready for change and hungry for a different kind of politics and ... for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback," she told the crowd (via Fox News).

Her remarks didn't sit well with many Americans, and Barack's opponents sought to capitalize on it. "I am proud of my country," Cindy McCain, wife of the Republican candidate John McCain, said at a rally. "I don't know if you heard those words earlier ... but I am very proud of my country." Michelle attempted to explain what she meant, arguing she wanted to highlight the impact of Barack's campaign on voters. "For the first time in a long time, thousands of Americans who've never participated in politics before are coming out in record numbers," her spokesperson Jen Psaki said.

Barack also stood up for his wife, noting she was talking specifically about American politics and not the country as a whole. "What she meant was, this is the first time that she's been proud of the politics of America," he said (via ABC News).

Barack and Michelle Obama had the Internet buzzing with divorce rumors in 2025 after the former first lady was absent from major public events. For instance, in January 2024, Barack attended President Jimmy Carter's funeral alone, with Michelle skipping it due to an extended vacation in Hawaii. "Mrs. Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former President," a statement to People read. 

Michelle also didn't attend Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025. Her team provided no official explanation for the absence. While some concluded it was a protest against Trump, whom she has openly criticized over the years, many others took it to mean trouble in Michelle and Barack's marriage. "Why aren't more people talking about Michelle Obama not being with Barack at the Carter funeral and the Trump inauguration? I smell a divorce brewing," an X user posted.

The former first lady eventually set the record straight, revealing that her decision to step back from public duties had nothing to do with the state of her marriage. Instead, Michelle highlighted society's obsession with wanting public figures to live up to certain expectations and the ensuing pressure it places on women. "This couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?" she questioned during an apperance on Sophia Bush's "Work in Progress" podcast. "But that's what society does to us."

In September 2012, militants attacked the United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, killing four Americans including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith. In the aftermath, Susan Rice, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, explained that the attack happened "spontaneously" and turned "into something much, much more violent" (per CBS News). Rice admitted a few weeks later, according to BBC, that "there was no protest or demonstration in Benghazi."

The following month, Reuters released a report, revealing that multiple emails showed that the White House had been informed of the militants' involvement just hours after the attack. Then-Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, was also reportedly informed of Al-Qaeda's involvement shortly after the attack. The Obama administration faced serious backlash, with critics and Republicans accusing officials of misleading the public to downplay the attack. "This is a deliberate attempt to cover up the truth, from an administration that claimed it wanted to be the most transparent in history," Rudolf Giuliani told Fox News (via The Guardian).

In response to the controversy, several committees were set up to investigate the aftermath. In 2014, the House Intelligence Committee concluded that there was no evidence pointing to a cover up.

During a December 2022 appearance on Revolt TV, Michelle Obama got candid about her decades-long marriage to Barack Obama, admitting that, like most couples, they faced their share of challenges after becoming parents. "People think I'm being catty by saying this — it's like, there were 10 years where I couldn't stand my husband. And guess when it happened? When those kids were little," she shared.

In a different interview with CBS News, the former first lady clarified her remarks, explaining that she was seeking to be honest about the realities of long-term relationships. Michelle encouraged young people not to give up on their marriages too easily. "We've been married for 30 years. If I fell out with him for 10, and we had a great 20 years, I'd take those odds anytime," she said. 

Still, Michelle's comments were not well-received by everyone. While some social media criticized her for seemingly glamorizing marital challenges, a few others deemed it disrespectful to Barack and their marriage. "What wife would say this about her husband? Even if it's true, especially when he's a public figure," one person posted. "Even if she really felt this way about her husband — that's not something you say in public and certainly not something you say on TV,"a second person wrote.

During their time as the first daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama raised a lot of eyebrows. In 2016, Malia, the older of the two, made headlines for smoking at the Lollapalooza festival. The following year, she was photographed smoking again, this time at the annual Harvard-Yale football game. Unsurprisingly, this sparked outrage from critics. "My dad was a [Chicago] cop & I'd NEVER smoke pot in fear I'd embarrass him. Malia Obama smokes pot while her dad is @POTUS. No respect, period!" one person wrote on X.

After their dad's presidency, Malia and Sasha continued to face scrutiny for their lifestyle choices. In September 2023, Sasha was spotted smoking and hanging out with friends in Los Angeles. A few days later, the University of Southern California graduate was photographed enjoying a smoke session in her car before heading into a luxury local spa. Similarly, Sasha was met with outrage with one X user writing: "Obama's daughter [Sasha] Obama has turned junkie at 22; too much freedom can ruin a life!"

While their smoking habits sparked backlash from social media, the Obama girls were met with support from public figures including Ivanka Trump who defended their right to privacy. "Malia Obama should be allowed the same privacy as her school aged peers. She is a young adult and private citizen, and should be OFF limits," Trump wrote in a 2017 post. 

In 2010, Barack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which would be one of the major focuses of Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" campaign, aimed at reducing and preventing childhood obesity. At its core, the law pushed for healthier school lunches, encouraging schools to incorporate more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Sadly, the First Lady's vision was never fully actualized.

While the initiative got a great start, it soon faced some challenges. First students across the country launched an online protest with the #ThanksMichelleObama hashtag, with which they criticized the new meal options. "#ThanksMichelleObama thanks to you I've just stopped eating. At four dollars I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy," one student posted (via The Washington Post).

School districts also pushed back, reporting that students were refusing to eat the meal options and in some cases, skipping lunch altogether. "It's not the chicken nuggets, it's not the popcorn chicken. It's not the corn dogs and stuff that the kids really liked," Debra Appel, a food services supervisor, told CBS News. Implementing the program also came with financial challenges for many schools, with some adjusting their budgets to meet the nutritional guidelines. Over time, several schools stopped the program, citing financial losses tied to students' reluctance to embrace the healthier options.

During Barack Obama's presidency, the United States government experienced one of the biggest cyber attacks in its history. In 2015, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) suffered a data breach exposing highly sensitive information of over 21 million people, including current, and former federal employees, as well as their family and friends. The hackers, suspected to have been hired by the Chinese government, spent months quietly gaining access to the agency's systems.

In the aftermath, the Obama administration faced heavy criticism with several lawmakers calling for the firing of Katherine Archuleta, Director of OPM, for her failure to protect the department from vulnerabilities. "The technological and security failures at the Office of Personnel Management predate this director's term, but Director Archuleta's slow and uneven response has not inspired confidence that she is the right person to manage OPM through this crisis," Senator Mark Warner told Reuters.

And while the Obama administration initially backed her, Archuleta eventually resigned as the backlash grew. "I conveyed to the president that I believe it is best for me to step aside and allow new leadership to step in, enabling the agency to move beyond the current challenges," she said in a statement, per The Washington Post.