In his letter, Weissman shared that he began engaging in political activism soon after 9/11 and that the first talk show hosts he ever watched were Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly of Fox News. Weissman explained that he bought into claims that media outlets that were not conservative were fake news.
"I even believed in the birther conspiracy that Trump helped spread thinking he was un-American and shouldn't be the president," Weissman wrote, adding that he believed that Obama wanted to take Americans' rights away. "I've condemned him for any little thing he said and made it to something more."
Weissman wrote that he realized he was wrong about liberal values and "wrong about President Obama."
"I've learned especially about white privilege," Weissman wrote. "I see when [Obama] talked about conservatives, he was right and mainly wanted them to see what it's like to put on the shoes of black people, Muslims, anyone that's not in the conservative close-minded bubble."
Weissman wrote that Obama was by no means perfect, "but he did not deserve the hatred he received while he was in office and even now, by me and other conservatives."
"I am truly sorry to believe any of that hateful propaganda about you, and I am sorry that I took out my frustrations on you," Weissman wrote to Trump's predecessor. "Lastly, it was an honor to serve in the United States Military under your leadership." The veteran concluded, "Happy Birthday President Obama."
Weissman, who has more than 86,000 followers, decided to address Obama after seeing a tweet by The Democratic Coalition chairman Jon Cooper on Saturday asking users what, if anything, they would give to the ex-president as a birthday present.