--- title: Donald Trump Birther: Read President Obama's Speech description: "I don't know about you guys, but I am so relieved that the whole birther thing is over." canonical: https://time.com/4499409/barack-obama-donald-trump-birth-certificate-joke/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-19T15:06:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:47:21.703Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read President Obama's Jokey Speech About Birthers og:description: "I don't know about you, but I am so relieved that the birther thing is over." og:url: https://time.com/4499409/barack-obama-donald-trump-birth-certificate-joke/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15baa498defaa687/6988a69ffb4eac013b88f299/gettyimages-607366884-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: US President Barack Obama speaks during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix Awards Dinner on September 17, 2016 in Washington, DC. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read President Obama's Jokey Speech About Birthers twitter:description: "I don't know about you, but I am so relieved that the birther thing is over." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15baa498defaa687/6988a69ffb4eac013b88f299/gettyimages-607366884-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:48 video:published: 2016-09-16 section: politics topics: birther conspiracy, birth certificate, Certificate of Live Birth, citizenship, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, 2008 campaign, official birth video genre: interview, political commentary tones: combative, defensive, dismissive, assertive emotions: defiance (high), amusement (medium), skepticism (medium) sentiment: neutral audience: political news audiences, voters, followers of the 2016 presidential campaign, media consumers people: Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, George organizations: State Department content_suitability: politics [00:00-02:48]; health controversy [00:15-00:45] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Read President Obama's Jokey Speech About his Birth Certificate > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c2fdcb3f-e5e5-4a83-a472-5ecdac4bddc2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A History of Trump as a "Birther" [Watch (HLS stream): A History of Trump as a "Birther"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fg2XFQPB.m3u8) (2:48)  _Published 2016-09-16. Donald Trump addressed the so-called "birther" theory, finally abandoning the long-debunked conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in the United States. "President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period," Trump said_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video presents Donald Trump addressing the "birther" theory questioning whether Barack Obama was born in the United States. Trump discusses the birth certificate, claims about the Certificate of Live Birth, and questions from an interviewer who suggests he has been co-opted by the conspiracy. The segment culminates in Trump releasing an official birth video and stating that Obama was born in the United States. ## Key points - Trump claims Hillary Clinton and her 2008 campaign started the birther controversy, and that he finished it. (00:00) - Trump says there is a huge difference between a Birth Certificate and a Certificate of Live Birth, and that the latter meets the State Department standard for citizenship. (00:37) - The interviewer says Trump has been co-opted and asks whether he refuses to accept that the President was born in the United States. (00:52) - Trump says that if Obama was born in the United States, then the birth issue would be the greatest scam in history. (01:04) - Trump says that a few weeks ago he felt Obama was probably born in the country, and that today it is possibly so. (01:40) - Trump says he is embracing the issue and is proud of it, and that the birth certificate could be put to rest right now. (01:47) - Trump says he is releasing his official birth video for the first time that night. (02:03) - The video ends with on-screen text stating that President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. (02:30) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 01:01] Trump on Birth Certificate Controversy. Trump blames Clinton's 2008 campaign for starting the birther issue and questions why Obama has not shown a birth certificate. - [01:01 to 01:47] Interviewer Challenges Trump's Position. The interviewer says Trump has been co-opted and presses him on whether he accepts Obama was born in the United States, while Trump dismisses the criticism. - [01:47 to 02:48] Trump Releases Official Birth Video. Trump announces he is releasing his official birth video and closes with a statement that Obama was born in the United States. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Donald Trump: "I finished it. I finished it." - [00:37] Donald Trump: "there's a huge difference between a Birth Certificate and a Certificate of Birth." - [01:04] Donald Trump: "if he was then that's the greatest scam in history, not political history, in history." - [01:47] Donald Trump: "I am embracing the issue and I'm proud of the issue." - [02:03] Donald Trump: "Tonight, for the first time, I'm releasing my official birth video." ## Questions this video answers - Who started the birther controversy according to Trump? [00:00] - Does the Certificate of Live Birth meet the State Department standard for citizenship? [00:37] - Does the interviewer believe Trump has been co-opted on this issue? [00:52] - Is Trump releasing an official birth video? [02:03] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-02:48]: Entire video concerns a political figure and a controversial conspiracy theory about a sitting president. - health controversy [00:15-00:45]: Discussion of hospital records and birth documentation as part of the conspiracy claims. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Sep 19, 2016 3:06 PM UTC Donald Trump addressed the so-called "birther" theory, finally abandoning the long-debunked conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in the United States. "President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period," Trump said by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Sep 19, 2016 3:06 PM UTC President Obama joked about Donald Trump’s [admission that he was born in the United States](http://time.com/4496913/donald-trump-barack-obama-birther/) in a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Saturday. “I don’t know about you guys, but I am so relieved that the whole birther thing is over,” he said at the 46th annual Phoenix Awards dinner. “I mean, ISIL, North Korea, poverty, climate change — none of those things weighed on my mind like the validity of my birth certificate.” Here is a transcript of the speech. --- > “” --- ## Transcript [00:00] How not to mention her in the same breath. But Hillary [00:03] Clinton and her campaign of 2008 [00:10] started the birther controversy. I [00:15] finished it. I finished it. You know what I mean. There's [00:19] a real question about The birth certificate. Why doesn't [00:23] he show his birth certificate? Why can't he produce a [00:25] birth certificate. Let him show the birth certificate. Why [00:29] are there no hospital records, why doesn't he issue his [00:33] birth certificate? He did, he put it on a web site. He [00:37] produced that long form birth cert. Well, a lot of [00:39] people don't agree with you. And a lot of people feel it [00:41] wasn't a proper certificate. And by the way there's a [00:44] huge difference between a Birth Certificate and a [00:47] Certificate of Birth. The Certificate of Live Birth meets [00:50] the standard in the State Department for anyone's [00:52] citizenship .>> George, George, they've co- opted [00:54] you. Who's they? It's not, obviously, Obama and his [00:57] minions. He may have one but there's something on [01:01] that birth, maybe religion, maybe it says he's a Muslim, [01:04] I don't know. You refuse to accept that the President [01:07] was born in the United States. I hope he was. Because [01:09] if he was then that's the greatest scam in history, not [01:12] political history, in history. But [01:19] they knew that the birth is just unbelievable to a point. [01:23] Well, people are afraid to talk about this subject. [01:25] That's the biggest pile of dog mess I've heard in ages. [01:28] [ CROSSTALK ] I mean, any white presidents asked to [01:30] be shown the birth certificate. When they become the [01:33] United States of America, you know that he's American. [01:37] [ CROSSTALK ] [ APPLAUSE ] A few weeks ago, I felt [01:40] Like probably he was born in the country, today it's [01:43] possibly. I'm telling you it's changed. We're gonna see [01:47] what happens when. You could end this right now if [01:51] you wanted to. I am embracing the issue and I'm [01:53] proud of the issue. George, next question George. But [01:57] just in case, there are any lingering questions. Tonight, [02:03] I'm prepared to go a step further. [ LAUGH ] [02:07] Tonight, for the first time, I'm releasing my [02:11] official birth video. [ LAUGH ] [02:21] [ MUSIC ] [02:30] President Barack Obama [ MUSIC ] Was born [02:35] in the United States, period. Now, we [02:39] all want to get back to making America strong [02:44] and great again. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4499409/barack-obama-donald-trump-birth-certificate-joke/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4499409/barack-obama-donald-trump-birth-certificate-joke/"},"headline":"Read President Obama's Jokey Speech About his Birth Certificate","datePublished":"2016-09-19T15:06:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T06:47:21.703Z","description":"\"I don't know about you guys, but I am so relieved that the whole birther thing is over.\"","url":"https://time.com/4499409/barack-obama-donald-trump-birth-certificate-joke/","keywords":["2016 Election","Barack Obama","Donald Trump","transcripts"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15baa498defaa687/6988a69ffb4eac013b88f299/gettyimages-607366884-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15baa498defaa687/6988a69ffb4eac013b88f299/gettyimages-607366884-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US President Barack Obama speaks during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix Awards Dinner on September 17, 2016 in Washington, DC.","caption":"US President Barack Obama speaks during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix Awards Dinner on September 17, 2016 in Washington, DC.","creditText":"CHRIS KLEPONIS—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4499409/barack-obama-donald-trump-birth-certificate-joke/","name":"Read President Obama's Jokey Speech About his Birth Certificate"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A History of Trump as a \"Birther\"","description":"Donald Trump addressed the so-called \"birther\" theory, finally abandoning the long-debunked conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in the United States. \"President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period,\" Trump said","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Fg2XFQPB/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-09-16T18:27:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fg2XFQPB.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4499409/barack-obama-donald-trump-birth-certificate-joke/","duration":"PT2M48S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4499409/barack-obama-donald-trump-birth-certificate-joke/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```