Obama's birth certificate: A win for Donald Trump?

The blustering real estate tycoon immediately declared victory after the president released his long-form birth certificate. Does Trump deserve credit?

Reality TV star and would-be presidential candidate Donald Trump took credit on Wednesday for getting President Obama to release his long-form birth certificate.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Joel Page)

Almost as soon as the president released his long-form birth certificate at a Wednesday press conference, potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed credit for accomplishing something "nobody else was able to accomplish... I am really honored," Trump said, " to have played such a big role in hopefully getting rid of this issue." Many political insiders dismiss Trump as a publicity-seeking sideshow candidate, but his trumpeting of the birther issue arguably pushed the conspiracy theory into the mainstream. Did Trump force Obama's hand?

Trump's self-congratulation is justified: "It is quite interesting that President Obama felt the need to punch down at Donald Trump by invoking 'carnival barkers,'" says Taylor Marsh at her blog. That sly insult at Wednesday's press conference — clearly aimed at Trump — is the sort of presidential shout-out that should make the real estate mogul happy, because "no matter what President Obama says, he still ended up releasing information he hadn’t before Trump started his campaign." In the end, "Donald Trump got what he wanted."

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