Donald Trump addressed the "birther" controversy he’s been involved with for years Friday by saying Hillary Clinton started it, he finished it, and Obama was born in the United States, "period."
After nearly a half-hour of various military officials discussing why they endorsed Trump for the presidency at the new Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C., Trump took the microphone Friday morning and thanked them for their support, calling it an honor. Finally, he came around to the discussion that had drawn the media and all three cable channels to cover the remarks.
"Now, not to mention her in the same breath, but Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy," Trump said. "I finished it. I finished it. You know what I mean. President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. Now, we all want to get back to making America strong and great again. Thank you. Thank you very much."
Trump first began to draw doubt as to whether Obama was born in the United States in 2011, publicly calling on the president to release his birth certificate. The allegations that Obama was not a natural-born citizen drew charges of racist dog-whistling against Trump. Clinton drew criticism in 2008 for saying she didn't think Obama was a Muslim, "as far as I know. There is no evidence linking her campaign to the birther theories, although some of her fervent supporters at the time dabbled in such conspiracies.