Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

WATCH: Barack Obama Makes Birther Joke During Speech

WATCH: Barack Obama Makes Birther Joke During Speech

During a speech at the first Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago on Tuesday, former President Barack Obama cracked a joke poking fun at "birthers" who are convinced that Obama was not born in the United States, and therefore should not have been eligible to be the president.


At one point in his speech, Obama expressed his joy at being back in Chicago, where he started his political career in the 1980s.

"The reason I’m so excited to see you all here today in part is because this is where I started," he told the crowd.

"Now, this isn’t where I was born, I was born in Kenya," he mused. After some laughter, he added: "That’s a joke."

The joke came at the expense of Donald Trump, who spent almost a decade pushing the theory that Obama was born in Kenya, and worked Obama detractors into a frenzy after he demanded that Obama produce a birth certificate that could prove he was indeed born in the United States.

Eventually, in 2011, a "short-form" and "long-form" birth certificate were released to the public, showing that Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961.

During the White House Correspondents' Dinner held later that week, Obama made some jokes at Trump's expense, saying: "Donald Trump is here tonight! Now, I know that he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald. And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter—like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?"

While many birthers have held onto the notion that Obama was born in Kenya and that the birth certificates were fakes, Trump eventually conceded in September of 2016 that Obama was born in the United States.

He has yet to apologize for starting and perpetuating the rumor, however.

Twitter applauded Obama for keeping his sense of humor in tact:

But keeping to their conspiratorial roots, the birthers took the joke as an admission:

Beside the joke, Obama had some other important things to talk about, including the notion that we should strive against partisan politics.

"The moment we're in right now, politics is the tail and not the dog," he said. "And what we need to do is to think about our civic culture. Because what's wrong with our politics is in part is a reflection of something wrong in our civic culture, not just here in the United States, but in many places around the world."

Wise words from a wise man.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

H/T: Huffington Post, Twitter, Newsweek

More from People/donald-trump

Joe Rogan; JD Vance
The Joe Rogan Experience; Heather Diehl/Getty Images

JD Vance Weakly Claps Back After Joe Rogan Says MAGA Is Filled With A 'Bunch Of F—king Dorks'

Former actor, comedian, and Fear Factor host turned podcaster Joe Rogan has spent years profiting off the conspiracy theorists, Christian nationalists, and White supremacists that make up the MAGA movement.

But lately, Rogan has gone from enabling Republican President Donald Trump and his cronies to criticizing them.

Keep ReadingShow less
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Mike Marsland/WireImage

'28 Years Later' Star Aaron Taylor-Johnson Just Debuted His New Look—And He's Nearly Unrecognizable

At the movie premiere for the British crime thriller Fuze opposite Divergent's Theo James, Aaron Taylor-Johnson walked the red carpet rocking a new look that wowed his fans.

Since his breakout role in 2008 in Nowhere Boy, the 28 Years Later star is well-known for his dark-brown, curly locks that frame a face with bright, blue eyes and a beard. While he was clean-shaven at a much younger age for Kick-A** and even appeared blond for Anna Karenina, Taylor-Johnson is best known for his signature darker features.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nick Cannon
Carol Lee Rose/Getty Images

Nick Cannon Gets Blunt History Lesson After Saying Democrats Are 'The Party Of The KKK' While Backing Trump

Comedian Nick Cannon received a blunt history lesson after claiming on a recent episode of his web talk show Big Drive that the Democratic Party is "the party of the KKK."

After his guest, model Amber Rose, said that Democrats “don’t care about people of color and the Republicans do,” Cannon said:

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Levine speaks in a televised interview about using ChatGPT to sell his Florida home in just five days.
NBC 6 South Florida/YouTube

Florida Man Uses ChatGPT To Successfully Sell His House In Just Five Days—And Realtors Are Sweating

A Florida man decided to trust ChatGPT with something most people wouldn’t hand over lightly: pricing, listing, negotiations, even the legal paperwork. Just five days later, he had a nearly $1 million sale on the books, landing about $100,000 higher than what real estate agents told him was realistic.

Robert Levine claimed that ChatGPT walked him through planning, pricing, and marketing:

Keep ReadingShow less
Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep on the set of "The Devil Wears Prada 2"
Aeon / Contributor/Getty Images

Meryl Streep Reveals Anne Hathaway Asked Not To Use 'Skeletal' Models For 'Devil Wears Prada 2'—And Fans Are Divided

Audiences have definitely been "girding their loins" ever since it was announced there was to be a sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, with Meryl Streep returning to her Academy Award-nominated role of imperious fashion editor Miranda Priestly, and Anne Hathaway returning as her former assistant, Andrea "Andy" Sachs.

Their excitement only grew when the trailer for the film was dropped, with Streep's iconic silver bob and spine-chilling lip-purse back in place.

Keep ReadingShow less