Obama’s Top 10 Broken Promises

Every president enters office with an ambitious list of campaign pledges, and Barack Obama was no exception. Over the course of his two terms, PolitiFact tracked 533 specific promises made during his campaigns on their “Obameter,” rating each as kept, compromised, or broken. While Obama fulfilled many of his commitments, several high-profile promises went unfulfilled, drawing criticism from both sides of the aisle.

Close Guantanamo Bay: On his second full day in office, January 22, 2009, Obama signed an executive order directing the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within one year. It never happened. Congress passed legislation blocking the transfer of detainees to U.S. soil, and when Obama left office in January 2017, 45 detainees remained at the facility. PolitiFact rated this a broken promise.

“If you like your plan, you can keep it”: This pledge, made repeatedly during the push for the Affordable Care Act, was named PolitiFact’s “Lie of the Year” in 2013 after at least seven million consumers had their existing health insurance plans canceled because the plans did not meet the ACA’s new minimum coverage requirements.

Lower premiums by $2,500: Obama promised that his healthcare plan would reduce average family premiums by $2,500 per year. Instead, individual market premiums more than doubled between 2013 and 2017 as the ACA exchanges took effect.

“If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor”: As insurers created narrower provider networks to control costs under the ACA, many patients found that their preferred physicians were no longer covered under their new plans.

Most transparent administration in history: Obama pledged unprecedented government transparency but faced widespread criticism for falling short. Programs involving warrantless surveillance continued and were expanded rather than curtailed, prompting pushback from civil liberties organizations.

No lobbyists in the administration: Obama formally banned lobbyists from serving in his administration but then established a waiver process that allowed some former lobbyists to take government positions. PolitiFact noted the promise was “not being kept in letter or in spirit.”

Slash earmarks: Obama promised to ban all Congressional earmarks — the practice of attaching spending provisions for specific projects to larger bills. While the practice declined during his tenure, he did not follow through on an outright ban.

Post legislation online for five days before signing: Obama pledged that all bills would be posted online for public review for five days before he signed them into law. The commitment was not consistently honored.

Healthcare debate on C-SPAN: During the 2008 campaign, Obama promised that the healthcare reform debate would be broadcast live on C-SPAN so the public could follow the negotiations. Instead, much of the key deal-making took place behind closed doors.

Public financing in the general election: Obama initially pledged to use the public financing system for the 2008 general election but reversed course, becoming the first major-party nominee since the system was established to opt out of public funding — a decision that allowed him to raise and spend far more than his opponent.