VIDEO: No-Nonsense President Obama Calls Birther Controversy 'Distraction,' 'Silliness'
April 27 2011, Published 1:02 p.m. ET
A short time after the White House released his birth certificate, showing that he was in fact born in the U.S., President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he hasn't got time for the "distraction" and "silliness" of the hotbed issue.
Mr. Obama, with a bold demeanor, spoke from the White House in a statement carried live by most news channels. In his remarks, President Obama said that the country's got bigger issues to worry about than the distractions presented by the Birthers, who claim that he was born outside of the nation (making him ineligible to be president).
The birth certificate shows Mr. Obama was born Barack Hussein Obama II, at 7:24 pm on August 4, 1961, at Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In a sign of the times, The White House also sent out an official tweet addressing the release, saying "Obama's long form birth certificate released so that America can move on to real issues that matter to our future."
After the White House released the document, Donald Trump, one of the loudest public voices against Mr. Obama in the controversy, said the president "should have done it a long time ago.
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"I am really honored to play such a big role in hopefully, hopefully getting rid of this issue," the Celebrity Apprentice star and possible Presidential candidate said.
Mr. Obama had previously released a shorter version of his birth certificate prior to being elected president in 2008.
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Born In The U.S.A.: White House Releases President Obama's Birth Certificate