Political Quotes

Barack Obama: “As president of our country, and commander in chief of our military, I accept that people are going to call me awful…”

On the recordSeptember 24, 2012
As president of our country, and commander in chief of our military, I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day. And I will always defend their right to do so.
Said by
Barack Obama
Democratic · Illinois

Editor's note · Context

Obama addresses the importance of freedom of speech and the need for the Muslim world to be more accepting of criticism.

Share

More from Barack Obama

Oct 15, 2026

People need to “rediscover what’s the story we tell about how we’re going to live together, and see each other, and recognise each other, and disagree, and yet, still care for each other”.

thenational.scot
Oct 15, 2026

And I will fight for that, even if I don’t always think it’s going to win.

thenational.scot
Oct 15, 2026

I’m going to insist that we can do better than we’re doing right now.

thenational.scot
Oct 14, 2026

This race is going to be close. It could determine which party controls the Senate and whether Ohioans can count on the people in Washington to be fighting for you.

abcnews.com

Other voices in this conversation