Trump has come under fire by the media for pressing the issue of Obama's natural born citizenship status, a constitutional requirement for being president. Trump, who has produced his own long-form birth certificate showing his birth in a New York hospital, has said he initially believed Obama's claim that he was born in Hawaii but his doubts have grown because of the President's reluctance to produce his long-form birth certificate. Obama's campaign, instead, produced a certificate of live birth issued in 2007 to prove his birth in Hawaii. Critics note Hawaii law permits parents to record their child's birth with Hawaii's Department of Health even if the child's birth took place outside of the state. Trump has reportedly spoken to lawmakers in other states, including Arizona, about state legislative efforts to require presidential candidates to file proof to establish they meet the 35-year age requirement, are natural born citizens and have resided in the U.S for at least 14 years, the three requirements set out in the U.S. Constitution.
Trump has told reporters during interviews recently that he has people investigating Obama's background and can't believe what they are learning. Some believe Trump may have been privy to the contents of a new book to be released by Dr. Jerome Corsi next month, "Where's The Birth Certificate." Pre-release sales of the book soared after the Drudge Report teased readers with claims from a source that new information in the book would prove to be "utterly devastating."
Trump also took time to call columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer, who mocked Trump's candidacy by calling him a "clown" and a "provocateur." Krauthammer recounted his phone conversation with Trump on Fox News' Bret Baier's show yesterday, which he said now leaves him convinced Trump is serious about running for president:
It was a surprise, and when my secretary told me, I put on a helmet and a flak jacket as I answered the phone. I expected a tirade, which he had every right to do given what I have been saying about him. In fact, he was courteous but very calm, and he made his case, rather than sort of attacking everything I said about him. Simply, he made his case: “I’m a serious businessman, I’m a serious candidate"...I give him credit for the way he conducted himself [on the phone call].In a column this week, Krauthammer rated Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Haley Barbour and Mitch Daniels as the only serious candidates running on the Republican side. He gave Romney the best shot of winning at this early point as "the prohibitive front-runner" with 5-1 odds of winning. On a Daniels' candidacy, Krauthammer wrote:
Highly successful governor. Budget guru. Delightful dullness satisfies all axioms (see above). Foreign policy unknown, assuming he has one. Alienated some conservatives with his call for a truce on — i.e., deferring — social issues. If he runs, 6-1.Krauthammer thinks Pawlenty, however, may turn out to be "the last man standing." Krauthammer says he doesn't believe either Mike Huckabee or Sarah Palin will end up running for president.
