--- title: Mike Pence Says He Believes Obama Was Born in Hawaii description: Pence declined to answer whether or not Donald Trump should apologize to the president. canonical: https://time.com/4482683/mike-pence-trump-obama-birther/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-07T20:30:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:27:14.692Z article:section: Politics og:title: Mike Pence Says Obama Was Born in Hawaii: 'I Accept His Birthplace' og:description: Donald Trump, on the other hand, dodged questions about Obama's birth certificate earlier this week og:url: https://time.com/4482683/mike-pence-trump-obama-birther/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b2e9b2993314bf3/6988a124bc6cfc88573de1f8/politics-tie-tradition-donald-trump-president-obama-6.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2016 Republican National Convention og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mike Pence Says Obama Was Born in Hawaii: 'I Accept His Birthplace' twitter:description: Donald Trump, on the other hand, dodged questions about Obama's birth certificate earlier this week twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b2e9b2993314bf3/6988a124bc6cfc88573de1f8/politics-tie-tradition-donald-trump-president-obama-6.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mike Pence Says Obama Was Born in Hawaii: 'I Accept His Birthplace' by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Sep 7, 2016 8:30 PM UTC  Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, and Vice Presidential nominee, takes the stage to speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 20, 2016. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, and Vice Presidential nominee, takes the stage to speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 20, 2016.Bill Clark—Roll Call by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Sep 7, 2016 8:30 PM UTC Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said he [believes that](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/pence-trump-obama-birther-comments-227840) President Barack Obama was in fact born in the U.S., but didn’t weigh in on whether his running mate Donald Trump should apologize for suggesting otherwise. Pence was asked by reporters on Wednesday whether or not the candidate should apologize for suggesting that Obama was born outside the country, [according to Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/pence-trump-obama-birther-comments-227840). “Well I believe Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, I accept his birthplace,” Pence told reporters before a fundraiser in San Diego. When asked if Trump should apologize for earlier comments, Pence said: “I think Donald Trump’s record both as a business man and as a political leader and as a patron in supporting minority efforts and particularly supporting the advancement of the African American community really speaks for itself.” Trump, on the other hand, has dodged questions about the birth certificate this week, telling reporters on Monday that he didn’t want to talk about it. “I don’t talk about it because if I talk about that, your whole thing will be about that,” Trump told reporters on his plane Monday, the [Washington _Post_ reported](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-wont-talk-about-being-a-birther--or-many-other-controversial-comments/2016/09/06/845891da-7441-11e6-be4f-3f42f2e5a49e%5Fstory.html). “So I don’t talk about it.” In the lead up to the 2012 election, Trump was a prominent face of the birther movement that questioned the president’s birthplace. Last month, Hillary Clinton [reminded Twitter users](http://time.com/4442080/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-birther/) that Trump was a “birther,” reposting [a 2012 tweet](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/232572505238433794) from Trump that says a source told the billionaire that Obama’s birth certificate was a fraud. \[[_Politico_](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/pence-trump-obama-birther-comments-227840)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4482683/mike-pence-trump-obama-birther/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4482683/mike-pence-trump-obama-birther/"},"headline":"Mike Pence Says Obama Was Born in Hawaii: 'I Accept His Birthplace'","datePublished":"2016-09-07T20:30:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:27:14.692Z","description":"Donald Trump, on the other hand, dodged questions about Obama's birth certificate earlier this week","url":"https://time.com/4482683/mike-pence-trump-obama-birther/","keywords":["2016 Election","republicans","2016 Election topic","Donald Trump","Mike Pence"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b2e9b2993314bf3/6988a124bc6cfc88573de1f8/politics-tie-tradition-donald-trump-president-obama-6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b2e9b2993314bf3/6988a124bc6cfc88573de1f8/politics-tie-tradition-donald-trump-president-obama-6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2016 Republican National Convention","caption":"Indiana Gov. 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