Donald Trump: Obama Birth Certificate 'Missing' (VIDEO)

Potential presidential candidate Donald Trump said that President Barack Obama's birth certificate is "missing" during a phone interview that aired on Monday night's edition of "Anderson Cooper 360°" on CNN.

Trump made the suggestion when pressed on an indication he recently made that he has investigators on the ground in Hawaii in search of more information about where the president was born. Here's an excerpt of the exchange:

Anderson Cooper: You’ve said repeatedly that you have investigators in Hawaii looking into the president’s birth certificate that you’re looking into it very very strongly, that’s a quote. In another interview, you said that your investigators quote can’t believe what they’re finding. We’ve had a team in Hawaii, talking to everyone in the state health dept to the school where Obama’s mother went, other families who were in the hospital at the same time as when he was born, none of them say they’ve been contacted by anyone working for you.

Donald Trump: Well maybe they’re not saying and maybe they’re not contacting the same people Anderson. There’s a lot of people in Hawaii. And frankly it’s hard to believe he just doesn’t issue his birth certificate. It would be so easy to do if in fact he has one. And a birth certificate is not a certificate of live birth, which is a much much lower standard as you know.

When asked to name one person his investigators have contacted in their probe in the Aloha State, Trump declined to answer the question, saying it would not be "appropriate" to reveal such details. He did confirm, however, that he does have a team looking into the matter.

"The birth certificate is missing, I’ve been told that’s it not there or it doesn’t exist," he said. "And if that’s the case it’s a big problem."

The AP reported over the weekend:

Lost in the renewed scrutiny into President Barack Obama's birth records is the fact that anyone can walk into a Hawaii vital records office, wait in line behind couples getting marriage licenses and open a baby-blue government binder containing basic information about his birth.

Highlighted in yellow on page 1,218 of the thick binder is the computer-generated listing for a boy named Barack Hussein Obama II born in Hawaii, surrounded by the alphabetized last names of all other children born in-state between 1960 and 1964. This is the only government birth information, called "index data," available to the public.

So far this month, only The Associated Press and one other person had looked at the binder, according to a sign-in sheet viewed Wednesday in the state Department of Health building. The sheet showed about 25 names of people who have seen the document since March 2010, when the sign-in sheet begins.

Those documents complement newspaper birth announcements published soon after Obama's Aug. 4, 1961 birth and a "certification of live birth" released by the Obama campaign three years ago, the only type of birth certificate the state issues.

Below, video of Trump's remarks.

WATCH:

Comments

[drillstop]

12:37 AM on 04/29/2011

President Obama just released a copy of what is supposed to be his birth certificate, while stressing that he had released the “short form” back in 2008 and that this is the “long form”. This really should smell like fraud to everyone and give more credibility to the “birthers” who claim that Obama was not born in the United States. If you go to www.hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/pdf/birth.pdf you will find that there is no option for a “short form” or “long form” birth certificate. If there are two different forms they would be for different reasons such as listed online, one for in-hospital deliveries, the other for home births and out of counrty births, but both forms would not be used for the same birth. Thus, when you order a certificate, you would get the ONLY one available for you. Is there anyone else from Hawaii with two different birth certificates?

[Petey131]

02:59 PM on 04/27/2011

Opps!

[taddles]

02:32 PM on 04/27/2011

So when Don said it was missing, that wasn't meant to be a factual statement right?

[cvbnm67]

02:28 PM on 04/27/2011

Now Donald Trump can go on to President Obama's school records. kindergarden, elementary, highschool etc..

This man has no shame and will eventually lose his job with NBC. Oh, did I say job? Yes, his job. He is a fraud collecting a pay check from a boss. What a joke.

[schildpad]

02:28 PM on 04/27/2011

ENOUGH.

The birther/bagger movement is finished. Time to consign them to the waste basket of history along with the guys who think the moon landing was shot on a film lot somewhere.

[zenbamboo]

02:16 PM on 04/27/2011

I hope the narrative changes now to hound Donald about this the same way he hounded Obama. It would serve him right and nobody would take him any more or less seriously. He is already a joke.

[Old Yaller Dog]

02:02 PM on 04/27/2011

Enough is way too much! Do we have to record every regurgitation this guy makes? Seriously, his statements are as about as meaningful as a burp.

[vanillalizard]

01:58 PM on 04/27/2011

I guess the "missing" birth certificate was found just in time to make Trump look like an idiot....

[peptobismal]

03:00 PM on 04/27/2011

Really? Who looks like an idiot? The people on HP that have been protesting and protecting that piece of paper that was posted by the White House on the internet 3 yrs. ago? The one we were all supposed to accept as the REAL THING? Lol? Well, then lo' and behold, the real thing DOES EXIST and we CAN see it. Lol. And there is nothing on there that is newsworthy - which tells me, the Pres. was playing this poker hand. He was using it as a political ploy as much as anyone else was. And he hand was called, finally. Lol. Lol. Lol. Joke is on liberal defenders the BC on the internet? They asked - what DO you Birthers need to see? Hahahahaha.

[RainbowPhoenix]

03:47 PM on 04/27/2011

Sorry, jokes still on you.

[BloodStripe]

01:49 PM on 04/27/2011

Trumps conference call to his investigators in Hawaii; You ALL are fired - Business cards are canceled! Make your own way back home.

[MotorcycleBoy]

01:35 PM on 04/27/2011

And, it was confirmed today that Trump is a liar.

[ex-eye-in-the-sky]

12:02 PM on 05/01/2011

That's for sure my friend. We've always known it. Now the sheep that have been following this varmint, can see what he really is. But then again...these're the kind of folks that look like Barney Fife...but when looking in the mirror at themselves while shaving, they see the reflection of the Old Spice Guy staring back at them.

[Hoosierbrad]

01:32 PM on 04/27/2011

Donald, your investigators you sent to Hawaii are having a good time at the beach on your dime!

[annie0107]

01:53 PM on 04/27/2011

Don't be so hard on these guys ... I've heard they've been looking for the President's birth certificate in Waikiki, Diamondhead, Waimea Canyon, Haleakala National Park, Nuuanu Pali Lookout, Kalaupapa National Historical Park ...

[Griz Fan]

08:43 AM on 04/28/2011

Annie, I wonder how they could have overlooked looking in the National Cemetery. Could be those guys tried and got spooked by the residents.

[ejcop77]

03:15 PM on 04/27/2011

he never sent anyone to hawaii. he was just lying like he was lying about everything else. cnn had a great segment on last night where he asked a bunch of people in hawaii have they seen anyone asking for records or doing any investigation and they all said no. trump is a liar and a fraud who found some suckers to follow him. end of discussion.

[bmike]

01:31 PM on 04/27/2011

Trump is being taken for a ride by his investigators. Last seen laying on the beach talking by phone to Trump telling him they are searching the beach and its missing but will keep looking as long as he keep PAYING.

[HKB]

01:13 PM on 04/27/2011

Missing ? then what did President just produce ?

[Man in the middle]

01:08 PM on 04/27/2011

No what donald?? Hope you get a refund from your 'investigators' down in Hawaii.

[6079 Smith W]

12:31 PM on 04/27/2011

Come on media, hold The Donald's feet to the fire on these claims!