Donald Trump conceded President Barack Obama was born in the United States at a promotional event Friday for his new Washington, D.C. hotel.
That was it, however. Billed as a major announcement on birtherism, Trump said little that will placate Obama supporters and the press who were expecting a formal apology.
This is the ENTIRETY of Trump's statement on birtherism. I am gobsmacked. pic.twitter.com/0KjrqFfkiO
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) September 16, 2016
Donald Trump's staff told multiple outlets this would be a press conference. Donald Trump took the free cable TV air time and took no Qs — Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) September 16, 2016
Trump's comments, which were carried live by all major cable news outlets, outraged reporters and political commentators alike:
Trump did nothing to put the issue to rest or to keep this from coming up in debate. And as he showed when pushed by WaPo, he struggles 1/ — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) September 16, 2016
I actually think this might have been the final straw for many in the media - they're tired of being played for fools by Trump. — Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) September 16, 2016
Sounded like Trump was reading a hostage statement when he said Obama was born in the United States. — andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) September 16, 2016
Ew, so Obama is from that country that nominated Donald Trump? — Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) September 16, 2016
Well that was a clusterfuck for the Trump Campaign — Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) September 16, 2016
Trump even had the audacity to fold Hillary Clinton into the birther movement:
FACTS - Hillary Clinton did not start Obama birther issue https://t.co/A4NRZTRCqu - Donald Trump did not finish it. He kept it alive. — Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) September 16, 2016
Instead of taking follow-up questions to his non-apology, Trump abandoned his press pool and paraded photographers around his new, shiny hotel:
There is no reporter that is with Trump right now as he's touring his hotel. It is literally a photo-op. Just cameras. — Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) September 16, 2016
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