--- title: Barack Obama Maintains He Evolved on Gay Marriage Despite Axelrod Book description: “I always felt that same-sex couples should be able to enjoy the same rights, legally, as anybody else" canonical: https://time.com/3704760/barack-obama-gay-marriage-david-axelrod/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-11T13:50:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:48.831Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Says He Didn't Mislead on Gay Marriage og:description: But struggles to explain the details of a well-documented shift og:url: https://time.com/3704760/barack-obama-gay-marriage-david-axelrod/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10cee8965a7e4a4b/69877e9b5f570f92d5b15340/obama-gay-marriage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Says He Didn't Mislead on Gay Marriage twitter:description: But struggles to explain the details of a well-documented shift twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10cee8965a7e4a4b/69877e9b5f570f92d5b15340/obama-gay-marriage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Says He Didn't Mislead on Gay Marriage > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=663f5604-cc85-4418-be56-52595b646d02&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=663f5604-cc85-4418-be56-52595b646d02&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=663f5604-cc85-4418-be56-52595b646d02&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Earnest on Obama and Gay Marriage [Watch (HLS stream): Earnest on Obama and Gay Marriage](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kerFqKMb.m3u8) (1:11)  _Published 2015-02-10. Earnest on Obama and Gay Marriage_ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Feb 11, 2015 1:50 PM UTC  President Barack Obama during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Feb. 9, 2015. President Barack Obama during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Feb. 9, 2015.Jacquelyn Martin—AP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Feb 11, 2015 1:50 PM UTC President Barack Obama [maintained in a new interview](http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/buzzfeed-news-interview-president-obama#.kwrmO53v8D) that he “evolved” on gay marriage, despite [a top aide’s assertion in a new book that he was “bullshitting” in 2008](http://time.com/3702584/gay-marriage-axelrod-obama/) when he opposed the unions. Obama told BuzzFeed that longtime political guru David Axelrod didn’t accurately characterize his position when Axelrod wrote in his new book that Obama shifted on the issue for political gains. But the President proved unable to explain why he moved away from supporting the unions despite supporting them as a state Senate candidate in 1996. “I think David is mixing up my personal feelings with my position on the issue,” Obama said. “I always felt that same-sex couples should be able to enjoy the same rights, legally, as anybody else and so it was frustrating to me not to, I think, be able to square that with what were a whole bunch of religious sensitivities out there.” Axelrod writes that Obama told him after an event where he maintained his opposition to same-marriage, “I’m just not very good at bullshitting.” Axelrod said Obama made the shift for political reasons, and that “opposition to gay marriage was particularly strong in the black church.” The passage, first [noted by TIME](http://time.com/3702584/gay-marriage-axelrod-obama/) Tuesday morning, is the clearest explanation yet of Obama’s long-documented flip-flop on the issue. In a 1996 campaign [questionnaire](http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0109/Obama%5Fbacked%5Fsamesex%5Fmarriage%5Fin%5F1996.html), Obama wrote that he was in favor of same-sex marriages, a position he reversed 12 years later when he was running for president. “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman,” Obama [said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJhQBZ1La0w) in 2008\. “Now, for me as a Christian—for me—for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union. God’s in the mix.” It wasn’t until 2012, after Vice President Joe Biden expressed support for the unions, that Obama backed them once again. ### Silent No More: Early Days in the Fight for Gay Rights  Caption from LIFE In commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, militants this year designated the last week in June as Gay Liberation Week and celebrated with a candlelight parade. The parade involved 300 male and female homosexuals, who marched without incident two miles from Gay Activists headquarters to a park near City Hall. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE When a bill guaranteeing equal job opportunities for homosexuals stalled in New York City Council last spring, militants demonstrated at City Hall. With fists raised, they shout a football style "Gay Power" cheer at police blocking the building. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE A homosexual activist steps between a pair of police horses to be interviewed during a New York demonstration. Militants often charge police brutality and welcome arrest for the sake of publicity. They also encourage press coverage of their protest actions. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, California, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, New York, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE Collared by a patrolman after he deliberately crossed police barricades at New York's City Hall, Gay Activists Alliance President Jim Owles submits to arrest. Members of his organization were protesting City Council reluctance to debate a fair employment bill for homosexuals. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, New York, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, New York, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights protest, New York, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay Pride, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay Activists Alliance, New York, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights rally, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gay rights event, 1971. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images “Where my evolution took place was not in my attitude toward same-sex couples, it was in understanding the pain and the sense of stigma that was being placed on same-sex couples who are friends of mine, where they’d say, “You know what, if you’re not calling it marriage, it doesn’t feel like the same thing,” Obama told _BuzzFeed_. Asked specifically about the old questionnaire, Obama offered no explanation for why he said he supported the unions before deciding to oppose them. “The old questionnaire, you know, is an example of struggling with what was a real issue at the time,” Obama said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3704760/barack-obama-gay-marriage-david-axelrod/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3704760/barack-obama-gay-marriage-david-axelrod/"},"headline":"Obama Says He Didn't Mislead on Gay Marriage","datePublished":"2015-02-11T13:50:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:40:48.831Z","description":"But struggles to explain the details of a well-documented shift","url":"https://time.com/3704760/barack-obama-gay-marriage-david-axelrod/","keywords":["White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10cee8965a7e4a4b/69877e9b5f570f92d5b15340/obama-gay-marriage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10cee8965a7e4a4b/69877e9b5f570f92d5b15340/obama-gay-marriage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama","caption":"President Barack Obama during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Feb. 9, 2015.","creditText":"Jacquelyn Martin—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3704760/barack-obama-gay-marriage-david-axelrod/","name":"Obama Says He Didn't Mislead on Gay Marriage"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Earnest on Obama and Gay Marriage","description":"Earnest on Obama and Gay Marriage","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/kerFqKMb/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-10T21:27:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kerFqKMb.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3704760/barack-obama-gay-marriage-david-axelrod/","duration":"PT1M11S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3704760/barack-obama-gay-marriage-david-axelrod/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```