Theories have persisted despite Obama's pre-election release of his official Hawaiian birth certificate in 2008, confirmation by the Hawaii Department of Health based on the original documents, the April 2011 release of a certified copy of Obama's original Certificate of Live Birth (or long-form birth certificate), and contemporaneous birth announcements published in Hawaii newspapers. Some political opponents, especially in the Republican Party, expressed skepticism about Obama's citizenship or were unwilling to acknowledge it some proposed legislation that would require presidential candidates to provide proof of eligibility. Some theorists sought court rulings to declare Obama ineligible to take office, or to grant access to various documents which they claimed would support such ineligibility none of these efforts succeeded. These claims were promoted by fringe theorists (pejoratively referred to as "birthers"), including businessman and television personality Donald Trump, who would later succeed Obama as president. A number of political commentators have characterized these various claims as a racist reaction to Obama's status as the first African-American president of the United States. citizen because he was born a dual citizen (British and American). Still others claimed that Obama was not a natural-born U.S. Other theories alleged that Obama became a citizen of Indonesia in childhood, thereby losing his U.S. Theories alleged that Obama's published birth certificate was a forgery – that his actual birthplace was not Hawaii but Kenya. Birther conspiracy theories were predominantly held by conservatives and Republicans, as well as individuals with anti-black attitudes. as required by Article Two of the Constitution. The movement falsely asserted Obama was ineligible to be President of the United States because he was not a natural-born citizen of the U.S. In response to the conspiracy theories, the White House released copies of the President's long-form birth certificate on April 27, 2011, then posted an image of it to the White House website, reaffirming that he was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii.ĭuring Barack Obama's campaign for president in 2008, throughout his presidency and afterwards, "there was extensive news coverage of Obama's religious preference, birthplace and, of the individuals questioning his religious belief and citizenship – efforts eventually known as the " birther movement", by which name it is widely referred to across media.