Obama releases his birth certificate: Is 'birtherism' dead?
The president unveils (even more) definitive proof that he was born in Hawaii. Will this finally put an end to the fringe Right's favorite conspiracy theory?
The video: On Wednesday morning, President Obama released the long-form version of his birth certificate to a group of stunned reporters. (Watch his press conference below.) The document, which is also available at the White House website, "shows conclusively that Mr. Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii," says Michael Shear at The New York Times. Previously, the president had only made available a copy of the short-form certificate. The conspiracy theory that Obama was actually born in Kenya, and thus is not eligible to be president, has been debunked time and again, but has still captured media attention in recent weeks, largely due to Donald Trump, who claimed he had sent a team of investigators to Hawaii to settle the issue. (For his part, Trump said Wednesday that he was "proud" to be a factor in Obama's decision to release the document, and said of the certificate, "I hope it's true.") In brief remarks of his own, Obama said it's time to focus on serious issues like the budget, and avoid the conspiracy-spinning distractions of "carnival barkers." "We do not have time for this kind of silliness," he said. "We've got better stuff to do."
The reaction: It's "surreal and weird and faintly ridiculous" that it's come to this, says Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo. But even though Obama has now addressed the question of his birthplace directly, his doubters won't be satisfied. "Just as it is widely attested in the sociological literature that messianic and apocalyptic cults frequently become more intense in their belief, the same pattern will now create so-called 'long-form birthers.'" Indeed, birtherism will survive, says David Weigel at Slate, though "I'd expect the focus to shift now to Obama's college records and writings." Well, while the White House's approach may not quelch this issue altogether, says Chris Mooney at Discover Magazine, it may at least succeed "in driving birtherism entirely out of polite discourse," which would be a big victory in itself. Watch Obama's press conference below:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 20, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - papal ideas, high-powered debates, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 sleeper hit cartoons about Trump's struggles to stay awake in court
Cartoons Artists take on courtroom tranquility, war on wokeness, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The true story of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
In depth The writer's fall from grace with his high-flying socialite friends in 1960s Manhattan is captured in a new Disney+ series
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published