Oprah Helps Obama Take on the Birthers

"I was there, so I know," the president jokes about being born in Hawaii, one of many subjects covered during his and the first lady's sit-down with Oprah Winfrey

By Natalie Finn Apr 28, 2011 2:45 AMTags

In an interview airing Monday, the queen of daytime sat down with the commander in chief and the first lady for this country's version of a royal meeting of the minds.

While there was certainly plenty to talk about, Oprah Winfrey had to ask Barack and Michelle Obama about weirdo-controversy No. 1: the suspicions—recently perpetuated by Donald Trump of all people—that the president was not born in the United States.

"We've got some serious decisions to make," Obama said, "about how do we bring our deficit down and our debt down, but do it in a way that preserves what makes America great—our investments in education, our investments in infrastructure, our investments in basic research, making sure that we've got a strong safety net for our seniors.

"And during the course of this major debate, where I gave a big speech and the Republicans voted on their proposal, the biggest news was this birth certificate thing."

"We can't be distracted by sideshows," the president added, "and, as I said at my press conference, carnival barkers who are going around trying to get attention instead of actually solving the problems."

The entire interview, Winfrey's first with a sitting head of state in 25 years, airs May 2, the first day of the final month of The Oprah Winfrey Show. The big O signs off on May 25.

And be sure to get a load of the Obamas cracking wise about the birther controversy in the above clip.

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