On Wednesday morning, the White House released President Barack Obama's long-form birth certificate.
The document indicates that Obama was born in the state of Hawaii and thus is eligible to serve as president of the United States.
HuffPost's Sam Stein reports:
The move came as a surprise to the press corps, many of whom had not shown up for Wednesday's early-morning White House briefing. By the time word had spread that Obama would be making a 9:45 a.m. statement on the matter, however, the top anchors at all the networks had scurried into the briefing room.
Once there, they received a presidential scolding for their concern with "silliness." Obama began his five-minute statement with the complaint that he wouldn't be able to get the networks to break into their regularly scheduled programming for a speech on policy proposals.
Meanwhile, potential presidential contender Donald Trump took credit for the disclosure.
"Today I'm very proud of myself, because I've accomplished something that no one else has been able to accomplish," said Trump on the release of the president's birth certificate in the key early primary state of New Hampshire. "I want to look at it, but I hope it's true. ... But he should have done it a long time ago."
Here's a rundown on reaction from within the political community to the release of the president's birth certificate:
House Majority Leader John Boehner's spokesman, Michael Steel said in a statement, according to CNN, "This has long been a settled issue. The Speaker’s focus is on cutting spending, lowering gas prices, and creating American jobs.”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who has reacted less than enthusiastically to the prospect of a Trump 2012 campaign, reacted to the release during an appearance on Fox News. Mediate reports the the GOP leader said, “I have criticized members of my own party for making this some kind of an issue and so I am really surprised that the White House is doing the same.”
Sarah Palin wrote in a tweet, "Media: admit it, Trump forced the issue. Now, don't let the WH distract you w/the birth crt from what Bernanke says today. Stay focused, eh?"
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich exclusively told Talking Points Memo that he sees the birth certificate ordeal as "strange." He said, "All I would say is, why did it take so long?"
Former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney wrote in a tweet, "What President Obama should really be releasing is a jobs plan."