Trump again questions Obama's birth, 'embracing the issue'

From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro
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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I'm with Trump on this one. There has NEVER been definitive PROOF of Obama's legitimacy and I have NEVER believed that he was an American. There is not ONE sole who has ever come out and said they knew him back when, no childhood kids, no college guys...NO ONE! Why does he have an alias Barry Soreo??? Why does he have different SS #s? Why can't we see his passport from Indonesia??? This man is a FRAUD. His entire background is nothing but smoke 'n mirrors. Look at the videos where his words "I am a Muslim"; Michelle Obama's words, "we went to my husband's birthland Kenya"; go read the Kenya Parliament meeting minutes of Nov 5 2009, 'we celebrate our Son of Our Soil" as President of the United States of America. Come on people......way too much there to ignore.

  • 3 votes
Reply#84 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:54 AM EDT

annirich: Wow! I can tell you must hold a doctorate from Harvard! What a mind! I'm kidding, of course. You and Jethrow Boudin both graduated from the 6th grade, and now you can't decide whether you want to be a taxi driver or a brain surgeon. hahahahahahaha I'm betting you don't hold a job. Right? I mean you must be able to pass a simple psycho test before any company will hire you.

    #84.2 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:05 PM EDT

    So annirich are you the KKK type racist, or do you believe that people of color should just know their place?

    • 1 vote
    #84.3 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:09 PM EDT

    Um, annirich, we all still live in America, where the government isn't allowed to come up to anyone, including the President, and demand to see their "paperwork". If that's what you want, then move to a country that will accommodate you. There are plenty around the world. Finally, what is your point in all of this conspiracy theory? Do you believe that he's suddenly going to "turn Islamic" and destroy the United States? How much more ridiculous are you going to make this argument?

    • 1 vote
    #84.4 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:55 PM EDT

    Annirich -- again, everything you are saying is untrue. Where did you get the information? Please broaden the sources you use for news.

      #84.5 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:55 PM EDT
      Reply

      In WI even parents of children are not allowed to have any such thing as a long form birth certificate. I just requested my daughter's official birth certificate for which I had to prove identity and pay a lot of money. All I got was a "Certificate of Live Birth" with no signatures on it. Maybe I could  drive to Madison and see the form the hospital filled out, but they would not give me a copy of it. And, as posted above, it is illegal for anyone for any reason to copy a WI Certificate of Live Birth. It is plainly spelled out on the certificate itself and on the application I filled out to get it. Even I cannot copy it for any reason.

        Reply#85 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:54 AM EDT

        just show your BC, I carry mine in my wallet, laminated and notorized.

          Reply#86 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:54 AM EDT
          Reply

          Looks like a - walks like a - acts like a - walks like a - Does business like a - JERK ! The media exploits his antics for ratings / sensatiolism and thats about it. He does have the gift of being a con man - ask the multitudes he has swindled - nothing more than a crook in flaboyant clothing! Just more noise. The media love it of course.

            Reply#87 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:55 AM EDT

            kind of like Obama the Chicago thug???

            • 2 votes
            #87.1 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:57 AM EDT

            Another Tea Bagger racist.

              #87.2 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:10 PM EDT

              you libbies always revert to race....dah....I don't give a rats if he's green or purple quite frankly, but I do care that he's killing the country. And if it ends up that in fact he is a fraud you are the people who have let him get away with it. Doesn't it bother you that he was raised by a socialist mother, socialists grandparents, marxist father, marxist mentor...........ah.............doesn't sound very AMERICAN to me!

              • 1 vote
              #87.3 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:15 PM EDT

              George Washington was raised by parents who were monarchists. That doesn't sound very "American" either, does it. Maybe we should remove his name from our history books, seeing as his parents obviously tainted him with their political and social leanings.

                #87.4 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:43 PM EDT
                Reply

                RicoTN: Good point. After all, his white Mother is dismissed entirely as his parent. That is racist. His Father, of course, left him when he was but a child and then his Mother left him in the obviously capable hands of her caucasion parents. His Mother was no better than his Father, for both of them left him to run off and protest some liberal horsesh** in another country. They were clearly terrible, terrible parents. But allow me to show what little respect I have for his Mother by saying, he is the first half-black president, not the first black president. He is also the first half-white president......so what? I don't care, I just wish he wasn't so friendly to muslims. I think he is a socialist and a muslim and will not admit it. Hopefully, Allen West of Florida will become the actual 'first black president', I like him.

                  Reply#88 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:58 AM EDT

                  Realistic: Wow! So, your intuition tells you the Truth. You "know" he is a Muslim; you "know" he is a socialist. How do you know that??!!?? What kind of a Muslim is he---shia or sunni? I mean he keeps ordering those attacks killling Muslims in Afghanistan, Libya, and Iraq. Tells us, genius, how your great mind intuits all of your knowledge, and where does it come from??!!?? Your post reads like you were stupid enough to pay $10.00 for a $1.98 sheet!!!!

                  • 1 vote
                  #88.1 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:13 PM EDT
                  Reply

                  Why would the American people vote for this man ? Not only is he Intellectually challenged . He is a Intellectually Bankrupt Moron !!!!For Petes sakes ban him from running for President based on premise , that if you are Intellectually Bankrupt you can not run !!!!!

                    Reply#89 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:58 AM EDT

                    Asking the question isn't a big deal. They have been asking that question since a man with the name Barack Hussein Obama came onto the scene. Let him ask it. The real crime is the way Trump combs what hair he has left. That is just creepy and pathetic.

                      Reply#90 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:00 PM EDT

                      Yea, let him run. Yes indeed.

                        Reply#91 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:06 PM EDT

                        Thrump, YOU"RE FIRED!

                          Reply#92 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:07 PM EDT

                          Google Occidental College John Drew; more research.

                            Reply#93 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:08 PM EDT

                            Seize this stupid @!$%#s US assets and kick his moronic ass out of the country. Trump is anti American.

                            IMO

                              Reply#94 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:09 PM EDT

                              It does not matter anymore that Obama is not a citizen. His actions since becoming President have gone against the Constitution. We need to just vote him out, and make sure that the libs never get their "candidate" elected to that office again!

                              • 1 vote
                              Reply#95 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:09 PM EDT

                              BTW, the diversion that the "Clinton machine" and McCain didn't go after this, so that makes it a non-issue is lame. They were afraid to even touch the subject, knowing that they'd be accused of being racist by the Left, and media. Adding to this massive FAIL was that the mainstream media refused to pick up the issue.

                              So here we are, 2 years later, and still with no clear answers. Even the new gov of Hawaii can't find the long form, and MSM continues to run interference for Obama by refusing to investigate, and demeaning anyone seeking the facts.

                              Trump is right... this may be the biggest scam in American history.

                                Reply#96 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:10 PM EDT

                                If you believe that crap, I have a bridge to sell you.

                                • 1 vote
                                #96.1 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:14 PM EDT

                                Tom, in reality the "Clinton Machine" probably uncovered the truth, during the campaign. Most likely after it was deemed that Hillary was not electable( negative public image). They used that "secret" to secure Hillary's cabinet position, and Bill's future "official meddling" on behalf of this "adminstration".

                                • 1 vote
                                #96.2 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:26 PM EDT
                                Reply

                                What is most laughable is that a recent poll had obama only two points ahead versus trump. With obama's recent warmongering I suspect Trump is ahead of him now.

                                  Reply#97 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:15 PM EDT

                                  At least Trump would get this country some money. He's already said that Iraq needs to pay us, the import taxes need to be substantial, foreign aid is out (which I would vote for that)........say what you like but I wouldn't mind have the world pay us back for once.

                                    #97.1 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:17 PM EDT

                                    He would get the US money, off the backs of the middle class and the working poor.

                                    • 1 vote
                                    #97.2 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:24 PM EDT
                                    Reply

                                    """"And he said that about 50 percent of Republicans "think he wasn't born in the country" – and they're "intelligent" people.""""""

                                    Really? That is news to me Republicans are intelligent? Well I will conceed that but only that they are intelligent in enabling the rich to get richer, and good at spinning tails to freak people out based on second hand hersay.

                                    So Trump lets beat this dead horse's bones into dust now. Next Trump will be telling us that the Sun revolves around the earth and that the earth is really flat, the moon is really made from cheese and that we never landed on it. Dont forget the 9/11 was set up by the Bush administration so we could invade Iraq and Afganistan.

                                      Reply#98 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:15 PM EDT

                                      Carianne

                                      I find your comments very humorous and without substance. Why is it that no one remembers Obama as a child or fellow student? Obama received financial aid from the United States for school as a foreign student, did you get that? He was a foreign student, not an American citizen? He was a POOR foreign student that received student financial aid from the United States of America. Where did he get so much money when he was nothing more than a community organizer in Chicago ? Who is backing Obama, what country, organization, culture? It could be the Muslims and that is the reason he has to make repeated trips to the Muslim nations. It could be an organization that is backing him for personal gain. There is some reason he is paying out millions of dollars to keep his past hidden from the public. Stop being a sheeple and open your mind up as an independent thinker. Being black or a Democrat is no reason for stupidity.

                                      • 2 votes
                                      Reply#99 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:16 PM EDT

                                      I don't remember you, Ragewolf. Does that negate your existance?

                                        #99.1 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:18 PM EDT

                                        Rangerwolf...I'd fully respond to your post but I can barely type because I'm laughing so hard. I think your tin foil hat is on a little too tight.

                                          #99.2 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:36 PM EDT

                                          You are too funny Rangewolf! "It COULD be the Muslims..." "It COULD be an organization..." In this country, "could be" doesn't cut it as proof. I could say that about anyone and anything! Reagan COULD have been backed by the Mafia". "Bush COULD have ridden the special needs bus as a child." Technically, as long as I add the word "could" it's a true statement.

                                          Yes, it COULD be the Muslims. But do you have any evidence or proof to backup such a random statement? That's a rhetorical question, by the way. We already know there is no evidence or proof of such garbage. Just a bunch of tea baggers saying something over and over again which will lead "the sheeple" to bekieve it becaue theydon't tend to check the facts.

                                            #99.3 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:38 PM EDT
                                            Reply

                                            *snickering*

                                            Hey, birthers ... what is your stance on John McCain's naturalization? He was born in the Panama Canal Zone.

                                            Hen-pecking at some imagined conspiracy that Obama isn't a natural-born citizen due to obscure interpretations of a vaguely phrased law is asinine.

                                            Adjust your tinfoil, please.

                                            • 1 vote
                                            Reply#100 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:18 PM EDT

                                            not asinine in the least. We're talking about our country here. There is scant information on this guy.

                                              #100.1 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:20 PM EDT

                                              Bullsh*t. There's scant interest in accepting that there isn't a consipracy theory. I'll phrase another way ...

                                              If there IS a conspiracy in regards to Obama's citizenship, it is one that has been on-going since the day he was born AND would be inclusive of the Republican Party being accessory.

                                              Does that remotely make sense? THINK PEOPLE.

                                              http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthcertificate.asp

                                              • 1 vote
                                              #100.2 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:24 PM EDT
                                              Reply

                                              So why not shut down all the doubters and present a birth certificate??????

                                              How many other Presidents have failed to present a valid birth certificate???

                                              I think they are good questions.........that should have been answered 2 years ago.

                                              • 1 vote
                                              Reply#101 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:18 PM EDT

                                              Difference between a Birth Certificate and Certificate of live birth??????

                                              all he has is a certificate of live birth

                                              • 1 vote
                                              #101.2 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:35 PM EDT

                                              1Hiram...that's all my kids have and they were born in Colorado. Does that mean they aren't citizens? Oh...wait...they are white, so they're good.

                                                #101.3 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:37 PM EDT

                                                1Hiram can you provide a Birth Certificate? I'm interested in seeing it.

                                                  #101.4 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:50 PM EDT

                                                  I have a Birth Certificate not a certification of birth as Obama does. Hawaii is the only State that does not distinghush between the two.

                                                  Carianne....race card???.......your bigotry or ignorance is showing.

                                                  • 1 vote
                                                  #101.5 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:00 PM EDT

                                                  I'm still waiting to see your long form birth certificate ...

                                                    #101.6 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:21 PM EDT

                                                    I'd be worried about Obama's not mine.........I did not applly for a college grant as a foreign student ...he did. I did not hang around with radicals and mad bombers.......he did.

                                                    • 1 vote
                                                    #101.7 - Fri Apr 1, 2011 10:33 AM EDT

                                                    thought that would shut you up............

                                                      #101.8 - Mon Apr 4, 2011 2:43 PM EDT

                                                      1hymen

                                                      i plan to respond to you with the same level of respect and maturity that you are showing in your thoughtless, undocumented opinion piece.

                                                      it is too bad you took the afternoon express to beckistan because much like the hotel california - you can check out any time you like; but you can never leave.

                                                      now run along, the myth has been busted

                                                      • 1 vote
                                                      #101.9 - Mon Apr 4, 2011 3:24 PM EDT
                                                      Reply

                                                      Didn't Bush the Butcher get re-elected after starting 2 wars.

                                                        Reply#102 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:19 PM EDT

                                                        Good example of a myth from the left...........they voted for the wars also.

                                                        At least Bush gave them a chance to vote

                                                        • 1 vote
                                                        #102.1 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:27 PM EDT
                                                        Reply

                                                        Mr. Trump, the reality is now that it doesn't matter!

                                                          Reply#103 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:19 PM EDT

                                                          My sincere advice to all Republicans and Tea Baggers: give up this crazy sounding conspiricy theory. Even it were true (yeah, right, I know, but just for arguments sake), it still SOUNDS crazy. Do you want to be taken seriously when you yell "socialist!" in a crowded theatre? How about when you claim that Democrats are actively TRYING to destroy the country (I LOVE that one!)? Choose your crazy conspiricy theories carefully. The "birther" one just makes you sound crazier than usual. Just sayin'.

                                                          And the birther arguments may even come from the same people who were hot to ditch the "born on U.S. soil" requirement just so that the actor-idiot "Ah-nold" could run for president! Yeah, Ah-nold for president. Especially after that other actor-idiot (Reagan) did so much damage to this country (surpassed only by "W").

                                                            Reply#104 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:20 PM EDT

                                                            I could care less what it 'sounds' like to leftie libs. That is not the question here. The question is has Barrack Obama aka Barry Sortoro an AMERICAN born CITIZEN?? Has that question been unequiviocally answered? NO!

                                                              #104.1 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:23 PM EDT

                                                              No more or no less than John McCain. Feel free to research. Here is a starting point:

                                                              http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthcertificate.asp

                                                                #104.2 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:26 PM EDT
                                                                Reply

                                                                "He said if it were true that the president weren’t born in the United States..."

                                                                PROOF READERS!! WAKE UP!!!!!!

                                                                  Reply#105 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:23 PM EDT

                                                                  Funny that the guy who made millions off "reality" shows doesn't understand the concept. HEY BIRTHERS, here's a challenge: Try proving a positive for a change and show one shred of evidence that he was born somewhere else. If you can't, please shut up already! You're an embarrassment to our country.

                                                                    Reply#106 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:24 PM EDT

                                                                    then you're going to stay embarrassed. There are a lot of dots out there and when connected NO he is NOT an American. Now of course "credibility" is everything but who is to say who is credible? In other words, is ex-secretary Robert Gibbs credible? Is anyone protecting Obama 'credible'? Have you read John Drew's account of Occidental College Days and Obama's Marxist sub-culture? Is Dr. Drew credible?

                                                                    "Deconstructing Obama"...........

                                                                    I did not like the way things were going," Daniels says of the country's drift circa 2009. And so in the best spirit of citizen journalism, she began to investigate Obama on her own. What she and fellow investigator Neil Sankey unearthed was a nugget that could have ended the career of a George Bush or a Sarah Palin: Barack Obama had been using a Social Security number issued in Connecticut between 1977 and 1979, a state in which he never lived or even visited at that time in his life.

                                                                    This will not come as news to the readers of WorldNetDaily, whose thorough investigation climaxed last June when WND's veteran White House correspondent Les Kinsolving confronted Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs on the subject.

                                                                    Predictably, Gibbs laughed Kinsolving off and switched the subject to the birth certificate. Kinsolving had seen this kind of laugh and switch before.Read more: Another look at Obama's Social Security number http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=275861#ixzz1ICBBNhQL

                                                                    There are a multitude of questions. Proof??? Who exactly is credible? But I find it very, very distrurbing that there is a man of questionable background sitting in my White House.

                                                                      #106.1 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:37 PM EDT

                                                                      Anyone who is a birther is a racist or just plain dumb. President Obama was born in the United States, and that is a fact. His birth Certificate has been provided.

                                                                      So, face the facts and quit acting like idiots. You do know that the birthers are laughed at by the whole world and you people are known as pure idiots.

                                                                      • 1 vote
                                                                      #106.2 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:00 PM EDT
                                                                      Reply

                                                                      I can not help but to wonder if the "birthers" even realize that Hawaii is a state? After all this is the same group who thinks that Noah loaded dinosaurs onto the ark and that "abstinence only" is effective sex ed. (didn't work out to well for little Palin). Aren't these the same people who still believe that Saddam Hussein ordered the 9/11 attacks? Also the same group that calls everything under the Sun "Socialist", yet defend farm subsidies and their own social security/medicare.

                                                                      They say that misery loves company. I believe that stupidity also loves company.

                                                                      Or maybe they just don't realize that it is no longer 1850. And that blacks can in fact be citizens of the U.S.A.

                                                                      Wait until they figure out that Muslims born here also have citizenship. It will really hit the fan then.

                                                                      • 2 votes
                                                                      Reply#107 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:26 PM EDT

                                                                      Once and for all, Obama has admitted that he is a Muslim, like it or not. He was enrolled in school in Indonesia as a Muslim. Why is this so difficult for people to understand? Michelle, his wife, let it slip and said Obama was born in Africa, not Hawaii. When it is exposed that Obama was born in Africa and is a practicing Muslim, how many of you are going to say, "No, that can't be"?

                                                                      • 1 vote
                                                                      Reply#108 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:26 PM EDT

                                                                      Grow up

                                                                        #108.1 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:30 PM EDT

                                                                        Rangewolf - From where did you obtain your information? President Obama first attended a Catholic school in Indonesia, then attended a public school in Indonesia. Most of the students attending the school were Muslim, but it was not a Muslim school and definitely not a madrassa.

                                                                        • 1 vote
                                                                        #108.2 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:21 PM EDT

                                                                        even if those statements WERE true, WHY would it matter??

                                                                          #108.3 - Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:23 PM EDT
                                                                          Reply
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