Witt and louis burgdorf. Morning joe starts right now. He was asked one more time. Where was president obama born . And he still wouldnt say hawaii. Wouldnt say hawaii. He still wouldnt say america. This man wants to be our next president . When will he stop this ugliness, this bigotry . Hsillary clinton speaking lat knight at a galla for the congressional spanish Caucus Institute as the birther issue takes new twists and turns. Good morning, everyone. Its friday, september 16th. Welcome to morning joe. Wow. With us on set we have managing editor of Bloomberg Politics and cohost of with all due respect Mark Halperin, and
political reporter for the washington and analyst robert costa here on set. Former treasury official and morning joe economic analyst Steve Rattner, and in washington Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and msnbc political analyst eugene robinson. Joe, here we go. Here we go. Here we go. A question asked of donald trump yesterday, and he brushed it away. His Campaign Staff quickly came out. Jason miller came out and said the quote is mr. Trump believes that president obama was born in the United States. Thats something that, of course, Donald Trumps going to need to say himself sooner rather than later. And there also, mika, of course, is the lingering question of where this all began. Right. If you look at fact check. Org, it says the birth claim was first advanced by diehard Hillary Clinton supporters, and you had that scene where barack obama is actually getting in a shouting
match with Hillary Clinton on the tarmac for actually not answering some basic questions about whether he was a muslim and whether he was i remember that. Yeah. So this is once again one of these issues that if it were a different candidate against donald trump, they would be on much higher and more solid ground than, say, where hillary is right now. But, you know, its going to be its going to dominate the news cycle this weekend unless donald trump gets out today and says it himself instead of having his Staff Members say it, that, you know, of course barack obama was born in the United States. Staff members say it and then he sort of refutes it so its never said. Late last night Donald TrumpsCampaign Spokesman said his candidate believes president obama was born in the United States, and yet donald trump has still yet to say those words himself. The latest chapter began with Robert Costas new interview of
trump in this mornings Washington Post. In it donald trump refused to say that president obama was born in the United States. Oy. Quote, ill answer that question at the right time, trump said. I just dont want to answer it yet. As to whether his Campaign ManagerKellyanne Conway was accurate when she recently said that trump now believes obama was born in this country, trump responded, its okay. Shes allowed to speak what she thinks. I want to focus on other things. After trump boasted, i have come up with africanAmerican Voters like a rocket ship, robert told him that the birther issue could still hang over his candidacy and trump glared and said i think it hangs over the reporters. Then last night Trumps Campaign released a statement saying what the candidate himself did not say. The statement begins by saying it was Hillary Clintons 2008 president ial campaign that first
raised questions about the president s birthplace. Trump spokesman then writes, quote, in 2011 mr. Trump was finally able to bring this ugly incident to its conclusion by successfully compelling president obama to release his birth certificate. Having successfully obtained president obamas birth certificate when others could not, mr. Trump believes that president obama was born in the United States. Again, the statement is attributed to Senior Communications adviser to the Trump Campaign jason miller, not trump himself. Joe, when does it end, and what for people who were saying why did people keep harping on this, why is this so important . Can you explain what really is going on here . Well, he just needs to repeat what his Staff Members are saying. First Kellyanne Conway saying he believes hes born in the United States. I think she said that previously. Jason miller saying mr. Trump believes president obama was born in the United States. Robert costa, the question goes to you obviously. It was your interview. Did you get any sense as to Donald Trumps reluctance to answer that straightforward question . Well, the question came up in the course of a wideranging interview because Kellyanne Conway had made this comment about a week ago saying that trump had changed his position. He now believed the president was born in the United States and as someone who has covered trump for the past five, six years on this birther issue and hes raised issues repeatedly also since the president released his long form birth certificate, i thought conways statement was a development, and i just wanted to see trumps thoughts, and trump and i had a lengthy exchange about this where he in a way clammed up and said he was interested in talking baltimore other issues. I read him conways statement, he nodded, he said, okay, she can say what she wants to say. I think with trump its always good to remember when im reporting on him, i remind myself this is someone who is
really devoted to the birther issue at one point in his political career. It was not a flirtation for a small period. It was something that dominated his thought and really launched him in national politics. Mark halperin, this late in the game hes ahead and hes moving ahead in ohio comfortably in some polls this week. Hes ahead in florida, in National Polls and in a tracking poll he was up by six yesterday. Why not just come out and say what his staff is saying and what i think everybody around him knows is the wise thing for donald trump to say . That, of course, barack obama was born in america, and he can even say i proved it by making him release his long form birth certificate or whatever he had him release . I think hell probably say it today, and it will be the latest chapter in i think one of the darkest blots on his record as a public presence leading the Birther Movement and even in this latest statement being
disingenuous about what his role was. Now, both rich lowry and cart kro krauthammer, have columns suggesting trump could win. Krauthammer says trump has the ability to remake himself, erase the past. I think the Campaign Hopes when he speaks out on a friday and finally says what his Spokesman Says last night, that he would be able to move on from it. I dont think some voters will ever forget. The president of the United States will ever forget. This was one of the things thats done thats the absolute worst, and yet i think the campaign believes they can move on from it. Mika, he can certainly put it behind him by just coming out today and staying what his staff has been saying about it. Well, look, i think the bigger point i mean, beyond just the kind of damage this talk causes that i just hope at
some point people from the Trump Campaign and people behind efforts like this understand what it does to our country, but yesterday trump had a speech at the new york i think Economic Forum. Were going to try and take a look at it. He had work that he is doing to move his campaign forward that hes just stepping on, and hes stepping on his own campaign doing things per taping to poe policy, pertaining to looking president ial. Mika, i was going to say its a great point. This morning everybody should be talking about Donald Trumps economic speech before the Economic Club, and we should be having a debate, Steve Rattner and i should be debating thats what we prepared to do it. Tax cuts versus raising taxes right, no, of course, and we will get to that, but the problem is when you just dont do something thats very simple and just say, yes, of course he
was born in the United States, whats your next question . This is not going to affect how whether people get back to work in pennsylvania and go back into the mines, et cetera. I mean, its just too simple. And and i agree with Mark Halperin, he needs to clean it up and get it behind him. Its racebaiting and things that percolate and get worse. By the way, were also going to talk to the pastor that interrupted him in michigan again because he kind of found a way to bring that back into the headlines. So, again, stepping on himself rather than allowing coverage of policy and perhaps speeches that show improvement and growth to take center stage. So here we go, while Trumps Campaign claimed last night that the republican nominee, quote z a Great Service to the president and the country by bringing closure to the issue of president obamas birth place by, quote, successfully compelling president obama to release his birth certificate, in may of 2011 trump continued
to press the issue in the years since. One year later in may of 2012 trump tweeted, in his own words barack obama was born in kenya, raised in indonesia and hawaii. This statement was made in writing in the 1990s. Why does the press protect him . Is this another watergate . In august of 2012 he tweeted, an extremely credible source has called my office and told me that Barack Obamas birth certificate is a fraud. A year into the president s second term, december 2013, trump wrote, how amazing the state Health Director, who verified copies of obamas birth certificate died in a plane crash today. All others lived. Are you kidding me . And in september 2014, he wrote, attention all hackers, you are hacking everything else, so please hack obamas college records. Asking, destroyed . And check place of birth. Trump continued to question president obamas birthplace in
the years since the certificate was released as recently as this year. He was perhaps born in kenya. Very simple, okay . He was perhaps born in this country but said he was born in kenya, because if you say you were born in kane enya, you got and you gont int into colleges people were doing that. So perhaps he was born in this country and that has a very big chance or who knows . His mother was a u. S. Citizen born in kansas can i was he a naturalborn citizen . Who knows. Who knows. Who cares right now. Were talking about something else, okay . I have my own theory on obama. Some day ill write a book. Ill do another book, it will do very successfully. So the Statement Released last night by the Trump Campaign mentioned our show as having pointed out that Hillary Clintons 2008 campaign played a role in the start of the Birther Movement. A 2011 politico article on the origins of birtherism suggests the answer instead lies with clinton supporters. Quote, the answer lies in democratic, not republican, politics, and in the bitter, haex exhausting spring of 2008. At the time the democratic president ial primary was slipping away from Hillary Clinton and some of her most passionate supporters grasped for something, anything that would deal a frinl reversal to barack obama. And back in 2008, campaign bhanger David Plouffe accused them of fearmonger in response to a report that aides to then senator clinton had emailed a photo calling attention to the african roots of then senator obama. In Fact CheckingHillary Clintons connection to the Birther Movement politifact writes there is no record that Hillary Clinton or anyone in her campaign ever advanced the charge that obama was not born in the United States. They do, however write this,
its an interesting bit of history that the Birther Movement appears to have begun with democrats supporting clinton and opposing obama. And fact check. Org in 2008 stated that the birth claim was, quote, first advanced by diehard Hillary Clinton supporter as her campaign for the partys nomination faded, and then there is Hillary Clintons march 2008 interview with 60 minutes where she did not question obamas birthplace but appeared to give a less than convincing answer in regard to his religion. You dont believe that senator obamas a muslim . Of course not. I mean thats, you know, there is no basis for that. You know, i take him on the basis of what he says, and, you know, there isnt any reason to doubt that. You said you take senator obama at his word that hes not a muslim. You dont believe that hes a muslim. No, no. Why would i . No, there is nothing to base that on as far as i know. How trumpian is that, mika . At least as far as i know. That is such something is going on. That is pretty crazy. As far as i know, gene listen, gene, im not saying that you have robbed more banks in washington, d. C. Theres no evidence, i mean, as far as i know. Well you remember that scene, barack obama getting into a fight with Hillary Clinton on the tarmac in 2008 for her people spreading the muslim rumor. It just is this just not one more reminder of why voters are saying a pox on both of their houses . Nobody seems to have clean hands. Obviously donald trump even in Bob Costas Interview is doing it recently. Its just the fact what are the odds that the person Donald Trumps running against, her
supporters were entangled in this and actually started it . Well, you know, i will accept politicos reporting that perhaps the birther thing may have started with or certainly took root with some diehard hillary supporters in the last throes of that campaign, but, you know, lets keep in mind, lets keep this in perspective, you know, any democrats stayed on this issue for about ten seconds, right . I mean, it was gone. Donald trump has been a birther for years, and as far as we know, is still a birther, and we also should keep in perspective how many people, many africanamerica africanamericans, many others read this issue, this sowing of suspicion over the president s birthplace which is an attempt to delegitimize the first
africanamerican president and kind of pretend this whole black president thing never happened or never really happened. So, you know, the fact that its being talked about now at this stage of the campaign is not a good thing for donald trump, and i dont think theres much blowback on Hillary Clinton there. I dont think democrats are going to say, oh, yeah, but hillary is a birth too. No, shes not. He is and shes not, and until he makes it clear that he is not, you know, i think it will people will continue to ask the question. You know, that said, this is certainly a different race from the race, you know, we thought we were looking at three or four weeks ago, so this is going to be an interesting fall. It really is. Mark halperin, you have obviously clinton supporters in the death throes of their campaign desperately bringing up, according to politifact and factcheck. Org and politico,
actually starting this birther rumor back in 2008. You dont have donald trump though in a primary. You dont have donald trump in desperate straits. You have donald trump actually in a position where people are starting to realize he could actually be elected president of the United States. Why in the world would he not answer this question in a way that would allow him to move the ball forward and not be talking about this today . Well, i think he will, but i hope we dont give him a ton of credit for doing it, particularly if he does it in the way that the statement from jason miller does where hes taking a victory lap for having exposed the truth about where president obama was born and but, mark, why do you think hes going to do this . Youve said now twice you think today he is going to do it. Do you have any is that based on reporting or is that just your instinct. I think hes going to be asked about it today, and i think you wouldnt see a Statement Like what jason miller put out unless he was ready to rip the bandaid off this,
despite being asked about it. You know, his basic mode over the years is similar to what he said on bob on wednesday night, which is this is what the president wants