Obama Apologizes To Military Couple For Interfering With Their Wedding By Playing Golf [Video]

President Obama called a military couple on their wedding day to apologize for forcing them to relocate their ceremony to accommodate his golf outing.

As The Inquisitr previously reported, two Army captains were preparing to enjoy their wedding in Kaneohe, Hawaii, but a last-minute interruption caused them to have to find a new location rather than the venue they had picked out.

Natalie Heimel and Edward Mallue Jr. were planning to get hitched at the scenic 16th hole of the Kaneophe Klipper Golf Course on Marine Corps Base Hawaii on Saturday when White House staff told them they would have to move to make way for Obama’s golf game.

Ironically, the couple had previously invited the president to the nuptials, which wound up being shifted to another setting, outside the home of the base’s commanding officer, which was described by the wedding planner as a prettier, more secluded, and much nicer venue. The wedding planner added that “it’s understood on the island that all plans are subject to change when Obama is in town.”

In a phone call to the couple, Obama insisted, however, that “Congratulations on your wedding. I feel terrible. Nobody told us. If they had just mentioned that they were going to have a wedding on the 16th hole, we would have skipped the 16th hole… I hope the wedding went okay anyway” The president also quipped that had he bypassed the 16th hole, he would have shot a 79 rather than an 84. See embed below for the entire conversation.

During the conversation, Captain Mallue characterized the mix-up as a blessing in disguise.

Mallue and Heimel are both West Point graduates who met while they were stationed in Germany. On the call, the couple invited the president to their reception, but Obama declined on the basis of the security screening would be too disruptive for the guests.

Prior to the start of his 17-day Hawaii vacation, President Obama had played 208 rounds of golf since taking office, according to the Obama Golf Counter.

Various reports suggest that after calling NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton to express his condolences about the fatal shooting of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, Obama headed back to the golf course.

The president received criticism in August for golfing on Martha’s Vineyard within minutes after delivering televised remarks about the beheading of James Foley by ISIS. He subsequently admitted that he didn’t fully anticipate the “optics” of immediately hitting the links after the speech.

Irrespective of presidential golf, Obama’s approval rating among active duty military is just 15 percent according to a recent poll.

[image via Twitter]