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Double down? This was more like triple down.
The Donald was at it again, offering a full-throated defense of birtherism and birthers this morning on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie.
Asked if he wants to be taken seriously, why he continues to defend the false conspiracy theory that President Obama was not born in the United States, Donald Trump said, “Well, I do think it’s a serious issue. ... I am embracing the issue. I’m proud of the issue.” He claimed it is “not that much of a conspiracy… it’s really not.”
Trump, who says he's considering a run as a Republican for president in 2012, went further, chastising the media for using the term “birthers,” calling it “derogatory” to lots of “intelligent” people.
He said if it were true that the president weren’t born in the United States it would be the “greatest scam in the history of this country” and that there’s “certainly a chance” he’s not born in the U.S. He claimed Obama “could have come in after birth and could have been registered for purposes of hospitalization” or even “welfare.” “Excuse me,” he said, “I’ve grown up watching some of the great thieves of the world… this is peanuts compared to what these people do.”
He deadpanned later: “We all agree he was born.”
NBC’s Pete Williams reported on the birth announcement that appeared in the Honolulu Advertiser in 1961. Trump dismissed that, claiming the notice was “three days later. … Lots of things could happen.”
He added that “no nurses, no doctors, nobody came forward.” And he said that about 50 percent of Republicans “think he wasn’t born in the country” – and they’re “intelligent” people.
He even went so far as to almost question if Chuck Todd’s children were born in the United States after Todd said that he has “certificates of live birth” from DC. He contended that Todd could go down to the hospital where they were born and get authorization to get a more official “birth certificate” from the Department of Health -- provided they were born in the U.S., “which I assume they were,” Trump said.
Trump was also asked if he’s prepared for the financial scrutiny that would come with running for president. Official candidates for president are required to file financial disclosure forms. Asked, in particular, about his companies that have filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Trump became defensive.
“I never went bankrupt,” Trump said, trying to draw a distinction between personal bankruptcy and putting a company into Chapter 11. “Many of the biggest people in this country, many times have filed Chapter 11s on various companies in order to reduce debts.” He added, “I’ve done an unbelievable job” and used the laws of the country to help his companies.
Asked then if the United States should file for bankruptcy, Trump said no. “I wouldn’t recommend that,” he said, because the United States has more leverage.
On Libya, Trump said he didn’t “know enough” about the rebels to arm them.
On his decision to run for president, he said, “I will make a decision sometime prior to June.
“We’ll all have a lot of fun together.”
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ROFL - It absolutely cannot get much better than this for the Dems in 2012 - if only we could be sure there are enough dopes to make it happen.
Trump/Bachmann 2012. Sarah Palin, Secretary of State. John McCain, Secretary of Defense.
What does it take to get the truly racist to stop it? This is a racial issue since none of you clowns were concerned when Mccain was running and he WAS NOT BORN on US soil...Obama was born in a US state you bunch of ignorant, inbreeding birthers...
Poor Rick , can't stand the DON criticizing his Obamba.
Absolutely. If your parents are citizens you can be born anywhere and be a "natural born citizen". You don't have to be naturalized, because you are born a citizen automatically. Naturalized people are people who are not citizens at birth and become one later. Natural citizens are ones who were born citizens. You can be born in China and still be a natural citizen if one of your patrents is. McCain was eligible to be president and I would never dispute. I might have voted for him if he had picked someone other than Palin to run with.
he was born on a US base. i am suppose to be the dumbass,but i pass it onto you
Trump is getting his usual dose of free publicity and making a mockery of the Republicans at the same time.
Are you Dems and Lefties afraid that the Don will whip the Bama at the next election? I'm sure if that piece of paper is exposed , it may be all over for the Bama. What would it need to expose that piece of crap? A commando operation? Should we call in the British SAS? The Delta Force? Or The Three Stooges? Would you Dems believe what the The Three Stooges would do with that piece of paper if it falls in their hands?
By the Three Stooges, I guess you mean, Donald Trump, Newt the snoot, and either or, Sarah Palin or Michelle Bachman, take your pick...Come to think of it, there's a lot more than three stooges in the Republican Party, and none of them are nearly as talented or funny as the original performers. So Leave Curley, Larry and Moe out of this. they were great americans. These other guys and gals are just scam artists.
Trump thanks he is God's gift to women. If he wasn't so rich, his wife wouldn't give him the time of day.
I take everything half good I ever said about Trump back. he's an idiot. Or at the very least, a manipulative lying bastard who wants to make money off politics without actually having to run for anything. That's a nice scam if you can pull it off. Gee, Donald Trump running scams and manipulating the media for attention, surely that's never happened before...
For those who believe Obama is American, no explanation is necessary; for those who don't, no explanation will suffice. [Since the Supreme Court is right leaning, I think those legal scholars would have to have been sure before swearing him in. Certainly more weighty than the birther's or Trump's smoke & mirrors.]
Interesting to see Chuck and Savannah carrying Obama's water, as usual, but the fact is that Obama has never posted his birth certificate. He's only posted a certificate of live birth, with no signature or details (including the hospital of birth), which can be obtained by anyone who walks in claiming their child was born in a given state.
Hey Chuck, your kids do have a real, long form birth certificate, with signatures and detailed info. Perhaps you should go find them in case they ever decide to run for POTUS, as the simple certificate won't cut it, unless we continue to have a Dem-lapdog media like NBC to cover for them.
http://factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
@Carianne...that is a certificate of birth which I guess is what is causing the problem for those who feel Obama was not born here. Everyone has a birth certificate, I just had to get my son another one from Vital Statistics and it even say Birth Certificate...not live birth... I personally have not seen those. I'm guessing both camps checked this out during the campaign so I'm guessing he was born here. To cut out all the questions I do wish they would just post actual and be done with it.
Lisa -- and I just got one for each of my kids that says "Certificate of Live Birth". These are duplicates of the original certificates that I was issued when they were born. My kids have NOTHING that is called a "Birth Certificate". Does that mean they aren't citizens? If you asked me to post their "Birth Certificates", I would have to post their "Certificates of Live Birth"...that's all I have and that's all I have ever been issued. You know how I got them? By going to the Department of Vital records in our state and requesting their "Birth Certificates". In our state, it's exactly the same thing...just as it is in Hawaii and many other states.
Obama did show his birth certificate - people have seen, touched and scanned it. The Hawaii State Registrar has certified it. It's stupid to show it every single time some numb-nuts wants a view just to give trouble. This is dumb - no wonder he had to declare bankruptcy so many times - he can't figure out what's right and what's wrong, even when it's starring him in the face.
People who question Obama being born in Hawaii should look over their own shoulders to see who might question where they were born. My daughter was born 5 years ago in WI. I don't have a single document saying "birth certificate" on it. I have a "Certificate of Live Birth" issued by the State of WI and that's all. That is all WI issues and the Secretary of State would be willing to testify to that effect. There is no way I could get a "birth certificate" for her. The "Certificate of Live Birth" is the exact same thinI couldn't get a "birth certificate for her no matter what I do. This is the way WI does things. Why don't people get that? People could say I was a liar and that the people who work for the state of WI are liars and that my daughter was really born in Canada. What could I do to prove them wrong? They could say my doctor was a liar. Birthers are saying Obama is a liar, that his mother is a liar, that state officials in Hawaii are liars, and that in 1961 some liar had the forethought to publish a fake birth announcement "three days later". I don't know anywhere in anyplace that a birth announcement gets published the day it happens. In my community, it is often weeks later that birth announcements get published. Is that because the parents are liars, welfare fraudsters, and cheats? The arguments he makes could be against anyone for any reason at any time. Using their arguments, no one can be trusted. Anyone could me made out to be a liar. The doctor that delivered me in Iowa 42 years ago is dead, and so are many of the nurses. Even if the doctor was alive I doubt he would remember my delivery. When Obama was born he was just another bouncy baby boy delivered in a hospital by a doctor who delivered a lot of babies every week. Nothing was special about Obama as a baby - why would anyone remember that? Why is it OK for people to call others liars without any proof? It is imperative in this country to prove an accusation. Innocent until proven guilty. It is the foundation of our law. These birthers need to prove he was not born here - he does not have to prove he was. Especailly when the vast majority of evidence supports the fact that he was. They have never provided any EVIDENCE otherwise. Intelligent people or not, there is no basis to their suppositions.
Thanks, WI. It appears that most of the "birthers" don't even understand that each state does things differently. In my family, there are three different birth certificates from three different states, and none of them are alike.
Kate -- and what's really funny is that Republicans are always screaming about "states rights" and the ability of each state to create their own laws. But, apparently they only agree with that when it suits their agenda...you know, like when it denies rights to gay people who got married in a state where gay marriage is legal, by saying that those rights don't carry over into a state where it isn't.
Teapublicans treat the Constitution the same way they treat the bible. They pick out the parts that suit their agenda and scream about those at the top of their lungs, and then ignore the rest of it.
For your information Cindy Obama was not rich. Yes, when he wrote his book it did sell very well and his income did increase. His mother didnt have very much, and neither did he. your facts are all wrong. Which is why you have such a distorted point of view. You sure have a lot of hate. What does that 1059490 stand for?? Is that how many times you've cursed since Obama became president. Makes you mad whwen you get up every morning doesnt it? Too bad. And that goes for the rest of you bigoted birthers as well.
Where was your hair born @!$%# ?....maybe PETA should picket you.
Oh, also in WI it is a felony to copy an official Certificate of Live Birth. Look it up. In WI they are very explicit about that. If anyone wanted me to scan and post it to prove my birth, I could be prosecuted in WI for doing so. Birth certificate laws vary from state to state. Some states might have documents called "Birth Certificates" and some have "Certificates of Live Birth". A person cannot be held accountable for what his or her state happens to issue.
I can't recall ever seeing a headline with a picture of Obama's birth certificate. Maybe in the future candidates should be required to produce this documentation prior to being allowed on the ballot. I think the entire discussion is mute though, as no 1 seems to have the power to do anything about it, and the time for the media to put it all to rest by publishing a headline story with his birth certificate attached is past.
http://factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
If it doesn't have all the details, such as the hospital, doctor, and signatures, it's not a long form birth certificate. Man I miss having a real, investigative media in America.
And this is NOT a racial issue, so stop that nonsense. That's nothing but a cheap diversion.
Ah Smoke and Mirrors, Here we have the most powerful Socialist and Progressive figure in the world who ran with the premise to change America to a socialist dream and equalize its wealth producing base but he can't produce a simple birth certificate and which seems to be rocking the very foundations of his political roots. Dems is this smoke and mirrors as you claim?
To Trump's credit, he really never quite went bankrupt. He did get in way over his head in debt from investments and property developments that turned sour, so he had to sell other properties and assets to pay his debts, but everybody got paid, he just lost a few pieces of property and I think a yacht. Not that I'm a fan of Trump, but I think that's an accurate view of what happened. but I could be wrong...He might be another Bernie Madoff in the works...
I'm glad Trumpy recognizes that the term "birther" is derogatory and that INTELLIGENT people know that Obama was born in the USA. The Republicans can't win on the facts, so they have to win based on prejudice and myth. They have learned that if it's said loudly and often enough, that there are plenty of STUPID people who will believe it.
Carianne - The next thing your going to tell me is that the whole Monica Lewinsky affair did not leave a "stain" on Bill Clinton's political career at all......keep drinking that Obama Kool-Aid......it's working! Ha!Ha!Ha!
It's typical that the Obama lapdogs like Chuck and Savannah would try to demean Trump but calling him a birther, and falsely claiming that he went BK. At least he didn't take a massive bailout from the taxpayers, like GM... eh?
We may be "birthers", if you bigots MUST label us... but you, Chuck and Sanannah, are nose-ringed sheeple.
Trump is the biggest idiot yet. Hope he runs. He and the other Republican Rat Pack will be a nice gift to the Democrats and President Obama!
So in 1961, when air transportation was the domain of the rich, this welfare mom (as Trump claims she was) bought a ticket from her home in Hawaii (where she was studying) to Kenya to give birth to her son, and then flew back to Honolulu in time to get those birth announcements in the Honolulu newspapers. Oh yeah, that makes total sense.
Trump is a perfect Republican presidential candidate. He is arrogant (actually acts as though he earned all his riches when he was, in fact, born "with a silver spoon in his mouth"), an extreme idealogue, and dumb as a post.
Like Bush Jr. he inherited a lot of wealth. And, like Bush, he is really not a very good business man. He took what his father had built and nearly ran it into the ground with bad decisions.
Statute, by parentage
Under certain circumstances, U.S. citizenship can be acquired from one's parents. The following conditions affect children born outside the U.S. and its outlying possessions to married parents (special conditions affect children born out of wedlock: see below):[5]
Children born overseas out of wedlock
There is an asymmetry in the way citizenship status of children born overseas to unmarried parents, only one of whom is a U.S. citizen, is handled.
Title 8 U.S.C. § 1409 paragraph (c) provides that children born abroad after December 24, 1952 to unmarried American mothers are U.S. citizens, as long as the mother has lived in the U.S. for a continuous period of at least one year at any time prior to the birth.
No matter how you slice this OUR President is an American citizen by birth!!
Trump is comedy relief. The news media yesterday showed that Donald Trump himself cannot produce his own birth certificate. The birth certificate he produced was a fraud! hahahahaha What a clown! There will be people who will vote for him, but those same people would vote for Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, or their own dog. Keep in mind that 10% - 20% of the people in this country are crazy. The news media will interview them, though, to keep the "news" controversial.
With so many large numbers of Republicans and Tea Baggers believing that President Obama is not a US Citizen, which is being spread by crazies like Trump, I can’t help but believe that many of them can't stand having a Black Man as President and we need to face these facts.
It has been proven over and over again that the President is a U.S. Citizen who was born in the United States. So, knowing these facts, these so called birthers are nothing more than racist.
I also want to say they are most likely not the KKK type racist, but the type that believe that people of color should just know their place.
always the race card. You people are crazy. Typical of the leftie libbies. I don't give a rats if he's purple; he's a fraud.
annirich: I agree with you 100%. The obvious liberal, job1, is the typical race-card thrower who has nothing of any substance to say....but talks anyway. Again with the race card. These wrong thinking, arrogant, liberal-progressive socialists are using what the liberals always use to force their ridiculous opinions upon people who don't agree with them. False, unsupportable accusations, ridicule and general distractions to make their "point" and get off the issue. Liberals are deathly afraid of the truth. Honestly, I believe that ALL liberals are racists....except when there is something from which they can benefit. I mean, liberals are the only ones talking racism and playing the card. They have to, otherwise they would have nothing with which to argue and poor racist jesse jackson and super-racist al sharpton would have no income.
You are a fraud. Quit polluting the Internet with your garbage.
Obama is as white as he is black.
Job1: do your homework; the KKK was the strong-arm of the Democratic Party
Although technically correct, annirich, I'd hardly call today's KKK the enforcers of the Democratic Party. And if Lincoln had been a Democrat instead of a Republican, the original KKK would have just as easily been a Republican Party strong arm. Their original goal was to restore the South to pre-Civil War life (slavery, et. al.) They naturally just blamed the people in charge at the time (Republicans) and therefore supported (created is more like it) Southern Democrats, who had very different beliefs than their Northern counterparts.