The Note: Is This Trump's 'Big' Birther Backpedal?

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September 16, 2016

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Is This Trump's 'Big' Birther Backpedal?

Trump Teases a 'Big Announcement'

Donald Trump said this morning that he will make an announcement today on the issue of whether he believes President Obama was born in the United States. The Republican presidential nominee told Fox News in a telephone interview that will "make a big announcement" on the matter today. The candidate's promise to address the issue directly comes after his campaign on Thursday night issued a statement asserting that Trump "believes" Obama was born in the U.S. As of Friday morning, though, Trump has yet to say himself that he believes the president is American-born. More from ABC's DAVID CAPLAN, TOM LIDDY and MAIA DAVIS: http://abcn.ws/2cdNpZ5

Backstory

Trump has been a leading proponent of the "birther" notion that Obama isn't a native-born U.S. citizen. His campaign's statement Thursday night was issued hours after the Washington Post published an interview in which Trump again refused to acknowledge that the president was born in the U.S., a position he has maintained for years despite proof to the contrary. And in a bizarre twist, the statement said Trump took credit for "compelling President Obama to release his birth certificate" and putting an end to an "issue that Hillary Clinton and her team first raised." "Having successfully obtained President Obama's birth certificate when others could not, Mr. Trump believes that President Obama was born in the United States," the statement read. http://abcn.ws/2cdNpZ5

Donald Trump Jr.: 'Doesn't Know' if Father Will Explicitly Say Obama Born in US

Donald Trump Jr. says he "doesn't know" if his father will explicitly say President Obama was born in the United States, but said that the statement released from the campaign last night is "coming from him." "I was involved in those conversations," Trump Jr. told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America." The campaign's chief "spokesperson is putting it out from the campaign." Although Trump Jr. said he was unsure if his father would come out and directly say Obama was born in the United States, he didn't rule out a future tweet along those lines. But he told Stephanopoulos he thinks the statement from the campaign was enough and this should be the end of the conversation. More from ABC's ALANA ABRAMSON: http://abcn.ws/2cDMNYy

Analysis - ABC's Rick Klein

What matters in Donald Trump going birther again isn't his current stance - even if one could be established as consistent, final, and coming from the candidate himself. What matters isn't - or isn't only - his long history with the matter, from bringing President Obama's birth status to the public eye (that wasn't Hillary Clinton's doing) to his unsubstantiated claim to have sent private investigators to Hawaii. What matters is how he is still talking about it, and the obvious inferences as to why. It's a blunt appeal to Obama hatred, including those for whom race is part of the reason to hate. Perhaps just as critically, it's another Trump distraction - putting himself at the center of attention, and taking scrutiny away from other corners. Trump has used distraction and deflection as tools throughout the campaign. Again, he's where he wants to be - the focus of frenzy he will surely call a media obsession.

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