Donald Trump: Obama Birth Certificate Details Being Sought By Investigators In Hawaii

WASHINGTON -- Real estate tycoon Donald Trump said Thursday he hopes questions surrounding Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship won't be the defining issue if he's chosen as the Republican candidate to challenge the president's re-election.

Trump told NBC News in an interview that plans to decide by June whether to run. He said that if he's nominated, "I'd like to beat him straight up," not on the basis of the birth issue.

A national NBC/WSJ poll released yesterday shows Trump tied for 2nd with Mike Huckabee in the 2012 GOP primary field at 17 percent (Mitt Romney leads the pack at 21 percent). NBC further notes,

Strikingly, Trump . . . finishes first among Tea Party supporters (at 20 percent), followed by Romney (17 percent), Huckabee (14 percent), Palin (12 percent) and Gingrich (9 percent).

Trump said he didn't introduce the citizenship issue, but was asked about it during an interview a month ago. Since then, he said he's looked into it and believes "there is a big possibility" Obama may have violated the Constitution.

"I want to see the birth certificate," said Trump in an interview on NBC's "Today" show, according to TIME. " How come his own family doesn't know which hospital he was born in? How come-- forget about birth certificates. Let's say there's no birth certificate. How come in the hospital itself, okay? This is one of the...in the hospital itself, there's no records of his birth. In other words, it doesn't say how much they paid, where is the doctor, here's your room bill."

Officials in Hawaii have certified that Obama was born in that state. But "birthers" have demanded additional proof, asserting he could have been born in Kenya. "I'm not convinced that he has one," Trump said of the birth certificate issue.

"Today" show host Meredith Vieira asked Trump, "You've been privy to all of this to know this?" His response: "Well, I have people that actually have been studying it and they cannot believe what they're talking."

The remarks from the potential presidential candidate prompted Vieira to ask Trump if he had people on the ground in Hawaii searching for proof of the president's citizenship. He signaled he did, saying, "And they cannot believe what they're finding. And I'm serious."

When asked how genuine his presidential ambition is, Trump said, "I always take things seriously, but I've never taken it seriously like this."

"I wish I didn't have to do it," he said.

"I wish this was the greatest place in the world," Trump said, but he also said jobs are disappearing in the United States and that Obama has given the country "a terrible presidency."

Trump said that if the current fight over budget issues forces a shutdown, "I think the president will be blamed."

He accused Obama of carrying out a confusing policy on the civil war in Libya, saying "nobody knows what's happening, and now it looks like (Libyan strongman Moammar) Gadhafi is going to beat the United States."

"I'm only interested in Libya if we get the oil," Trump said. He said Obama "doesn't have a doctrine (on foreign affairs.) Foreign affairs is, we take care of ourselves first"

Of Obama, he said, "I want him to do well. ... I love this country, but this country is going to hell. ... The world laughs at us. They won't be laughing if I'm elected president."

Comments

[Christine Monahan]

09:34 PM on 04/28/2011

I am glad that President Obama was able to obtain a copy of his Original Birth Certificate to prove that he was born in the United States.

However, if President Obama had been born AND ADOPTED in the United States, he still would NOT be able to produce his Original Birth Certificate for the public or even for his own viewing. By law, he would only be able to produce an "Amended Birth Certificate". (An Amended Birth Certificate is issued at the finalization of a person's adoption. This "birth certificate" replaces a person's birth name with a new name and his/her natural parents' names/info. with his adoptive parents names/info Once an ABC is issued, a person is kept from viewing/possessing their truthful documentation of birth. His/her Original Birth Certificate is sealed FOREVER.)

I wish President Obama had been adopted so that the country could see how discriminatory it is to seal an adopted person's birth certificate and replace it with a falsified one.

"We're not going to be able to do it if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts."-President Barack Obama, 3/27/2011

[LaurieMena]

12:59 AM on 04/16/2011

hmmmm... That is a very educated guess, Dr. Scharlott. However, as a woman, I can put forth one more possibility. This could just be Republican health care for all those expecting moms.

Palin is in Texas when her water breaks. Her insurance won't let her deliver in Texas, and a good thing, too. So, she flies to Alaska. But, she can't go to the nearest, best hospital. Her health care "provider" makes her drive to the hospital on her plan. Of course. Sound familiar, ladies?

Now, maybe the obstetrician might have been available if she had just waited her 9.3 months like EVERYONE ELSE, during regular business hours. But NO. She had to go to the family doctor to see if she could put a call into her plan to get approval for an obstetrician ASAP. Ooops. NOSAP. Sorry, no specialists without a week's prior approval. You're lucky you got the family doctor. But, wait. Did she? That non-committal response from her GP makes me think she had to do it the old fashioned way.... hey, boil the water, dude.

[TFree]

02:32 PM on 04/19/2011

Very funny character of a tea-bagging dolt.

[gurukalehuru]

05:31 PM on 04/15/2011

Speaking of questionable births, www.gurukalehuru.com

[ObamaBirther]

08:48 AM on 04/14/2011

For the latest updates, news and polls please visit the full discussion on the Obama Birther issue over at ObamaBirthCertificates.com.

[elizabeth gerteiny]

12:14 PM on 04/12/2011

"The greatest president in the history of the United States---me!" So crowed real estate mogul and reality show star and host Donald Trump, making himself, by questioning and investigating President Obama' birthplace, the hero of the radical Tea Party wing of the Republican party.

The self-styled brilliant entrepreneur has actually racked up large debts and lost fortunes several times, but Republican-like, interprets his errors and failures as successes.

He may not be running at all---merely grabbing more attention for his show, The Apprentice,
"the ultimate job interview," to influence NBC to renew.

Not known for altruism, humanitarianism or sacrifice, his legacy of tall buildings and showmanship may be superseded by ruthless self-promotion and egotism.

Do you mean it, Mr. Trump?
Are you really on the stump?
Loudly tooting on your horn,
Disputing where Barack was born---

Maybe it's the time to quit,
Now you've made your party's split
Even worse, or don't you care?
Take a breather, fix your hair. . .

If you're tossing in your hat,
If you're serious or not---
Is it just a ploy or what?
Either way, boy---in your hat!

Elizabeth Gerteiny
author of The President of War
www.bushandcompany.org

[fwiw methinks]

03:01 AM on 04/12/2011

This law forbids the release of the long form.

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol06_Ch0321-0344/HRS0338/HRS_0338-0018.htm

[Robert Baird]

05:29 PM on 04/11/2011

Frankly I would prefer a President who knows something about bringing wealth back than one who only knows how to print money, chase our national debt by spending uncontrollably and excessive loans from our enemies. We are loosing ground as a nation with social programs we no longer can afford and a nation of people who want Washington freebies instead of getting a job and contributing to our national recovery

[hairydodger]

04:44 AM on 04/14/2011

Your logic frightens me. It's poorly thought out and sounds like someone else's talking point instead. If you take away their unemployment benefits they will not rush out and get a job because there are few jobs. What is more likely to happen is they will lose their house to the bank and the economy will tank more because of the flood of repossessed houses.

[Robert Baird]

06:54 AM on 04/17/2011

My thoughts are reflective of someone who grew up in an atmosphere where people who needed more money got another job rather than feeling they were entitled to sit on their behinds and cry that the government wasn't doing enough. The whole Baby Boomer crowd has created a generation of entitlement people who believe the government is the answer to everything. There are still opportunities to work if you go out and aggressively seek it or if you are willing to be under-employed. Unemployment assistance is a concept to provide temporary help while seeking employment. It was never designed to be a lifetime entitlement. If you need work and it is not in your area you can always relocate or change professions. During the Great depression in this country my parents didn't have food stamps or unemployment insurance and they survived and the economy recovered. As an individual I do not have the luxury of raising my credit limit to continue living a lifestyle beyond my means and the government should be held to the same standard.

[GaryBird]

05:04 PM on 04/11/2011

Donald Trump really needs to fire those people he has on the ground in Hawaii. I was born at a hospital in Chicago that is no longer operating. When you want to get birth information in Illinois, you go to the county where they keep birth records. If his people on the ground are going to hospitals, they may be barking up the wrong tree. Besides, I think Obama's stepmother witnesses my birth in Kenya also. :-). I have a feeling that the Trump people are spending more time at the hotel pool than they are scowering the countryside for his birth certificate. How many people does it really take to find a birth record, ten, twenty, commandos? Hah!

[Robert Baird]

12:10 PM on 04/22/2011

What if Obama was a home birth? My own Mother was born at home and she had a tough time establishing her rights because a birth certificate was never issued. If Donald Trump continues to press this birth issue it will derail any chances he might have to actually defeat Obama in the next election.

[yellowdawgdem]

08:41 PM on 04/10/2011

Not laughing at America Chumpie, laughing at you.

[thatrachelgirl]

02:11 AM on 04/10/2011

A birth certificate isn't the only way one can have a U.S. citizenship that would make them eligible for presidency. His mother was American, therefore making President Obama an American, no matter if he was born in Hawaii or in Kenya. Once people get over that hump, the debate about whose vagina he came from will start.

[Grooveline718]

12:45 PM on 04/10/2011

Actually the requirements for being able to be eligible to become president of the United States are not exactly the same as the requirements for being eligible to become a U.S. Citizen. Obama certainly is a U.S. citizen by virtue of his mother being one, but that doesn't in and of itself make him eligible to be president:

Only native-born U.S. citizens (or those born abroad, but only to parents who were both citizens of the U.S.) may be president of the United States, though from time to time that requirement is called into question, most recently after Arnold Schwarzenegger, born in Austria, was elected governor of California, in 2003. The Constitution originally provided a small loophole to this provision: One needn't have been born in the United States but had to be a citizen at the time the Constitution was adopted. But, since that occurred in 1789, that ship has sailed.

Now I happen to think this argument is old and Trump should over it as its been all but proven that Obama was born in Hawaii, but we should still get our facts right.

[Jim Michael]

11:02 AM on 04/09/2011

The media should launch a thorough investigation to search for and publish an original "CERTIFICATE of ACTUAL TASTE" for any of Trump's building projects. I can't seem to find a single instance where Trump applied taste to any of his gold-leafed, faux-Tuscan, trump-l'oeiled, architectural trainwrecks. I demand to see PROOF!

[Photon55]

08:44 AM on 04/09/2011

What would be better for the nation is if he would send his investigators to Iraq to find out where the missing billions went since there appears to be no further interest to find out. Trump is the leading example of what is wrong with America.

[dblohangel]

09:28 AM on 04/09/2011

An even better idea would be to find Osama bin LAden.

[ProChoiceGrandma]

05:10 AM on 04/09/2011

Here is one of Obama's baby pictures:
http://nomadicjoe.blogspot.com/2009/07/obama-baby.html

[ProChoiceGrandma]

04:56 AM on 04/09/2011

Conservatives Photoshop Obama Photograph To Prove Lack Of Citizenship
http://www.themidnightreview.com/2011/04/conservatives-photoshop-obama.html

What a bunch of desperate losers.

[grdndoctor]

05:01 PM on 04/14/2011

hiding behind others tasteless posts makes me wonder which side you are truly representing