Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry walked a fine line when presented with questions about President Barack Obama's birth certificate -- which was released by the White House earlier this year -- in a new interview with Parade magazine published online.
When asked if he believes the president was born in the United States, the Texas governor said, "I have no reason to think otherwise." Pressed on the nature of his answer, Perry added, "Well, I don't have a definitive answer, because he's never seen my birth certificate."
Here's an excerpt of the subsequent exchange that went down on the birth certificate issue:
But you've seen his.
I don't know. Have I?You don't believe what's been released?
I don't know. I had dinner with Donald Trump the other night.And?
That came up.
Perry said that Trump doesn't believe the document released by the White House is "real." Asked if he agrees with the sentiment, the Lone Star State Republican said, "I don't have any idea. It doesn't matter. He's the president of the United States. He's elected. It's a distractive issue."
Leading up to the release of Obama's "long form" birth certificate in April, Trump captured headlines and sparked controversy with his persistence in raising doubt over the president's birthplace.
Trump went as far to release his own official birth certificate. Upon the release of the president's birth certificate, Trump said that he was very "proud" of himself.
Click here to see a photo of the president's birth certificate released by the White House.
