This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/30/donald-trump-birther-mitt-romney
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Donald Trump's 'birther' questions overshadow Mitt Romney's Texas win | Donald Trump's 'birther' questions overshadow Mitt Romney's Texas win |
| (8 days later) | |
| Mitt Romney's lap of victory after finally tying down the Republican presidential nomination was derailed by his host at the celebrations in Las Vegas – Donald Trump, the controversial billionaire who has repeatedly questioned whether President Barack Obama was born in America. | Mitt Romney's lap of victory after finally tying down the Republican presidential nomination was derailed by his host at the celebrations in Las Vegas – Donald Trump, the controversial billionaire who has repeatedly questioned whether President Barack Obama was born in America. |
| In what appears to be another high-profile mis-step – just as his campaign's new smartphone app mis-spelled America – Romney appeared at a fundraising event with Trump rather than hold a rally in Texas where a primary win finally awarded him enough delegates to be declared the GOP winner. | In what appears to be another high-profile mis-step – just as his campaign's new smartphone app mis-spelled America – Romney appeared at a fundraising event with Trump rather than hold a rally in Texas where a primary win finally awarded him enough delegates to be declared the GOP winner. |
| That moment of victory in Texas was overshadowed by a day of media appearances by Trump, a Romney backer and surrogate, that proved an unnecessary distraction. | That moment of victory in Texas was overshadowed by a day of media appearances by Trump, a Romney backer and surrogate, that proved an unnecessary distraction. |
| The eccentric real estate mogul repeatedly espoused his support of the so-called "birther" movement, which posits that Obama was born in Kenya, has no genuine birth certificate and might be ineligible to be president. He got into a verbal spat with CNN host Wolf Blitzer on the issue, refusing to back down from questioning Obama's place of birth. | The eccentric real estate mogul repeatedly espoused his support of the so-called "birther" movement, which posits that Obama was born in Kenya, has no genuine birth certificate and might be ineligible to be president. He got into a verbal spat with CNN host Wolf Blitzer on the issue, refusing to back down from questioning Obama's place of birth. |
| Wolf Blitzer and Donald Trump spar over 'birther' issue Some Republican strategists were blunt in their assessment of the potential damage Romney's joint appearance with Trump might cause, given widespread debunking of the main charge of birtherism and its tinge of racist sentiment. | Wolf Blitzer and Donald Trump spar over 'birther' issue Some Republican strategists were blunt in their assessment of the potential damage Romney's joint appearance with Trump might cause, given widespread debunking of the main charge of birtherism and its tinge of racist sentiment. |
| "That was a big steaming plate of shit spaghetti Trump just deposited on CNN for his supposed friend Romney," tweeted David Frum, a former speechwriter for President George W Bush who came up with the phrase "axis of evil". | "That was a big steaming plate of shit spaghetti Trump just deposited on CNN for his supposed friend Romney," tweeted David Frum, a former speechwriter for President George W Bush who came up with the phrase "axis of evil". |
| Mark McKinnon, a long-time adviser to 2008 Republican nominee John McCain told the New York Times that Trump made Romney look like "an out-of-touch rich guy without any real core, which means he'll associate with anyone if he thinks it will further his ambition". Conservative columnist George Will called Trump a "bloviating ignoramus" on a TV news show and warned Romney that associating with him would bring a heavy political cost. | Mark McKinnon, a long-time adviser to 2008 Republican nominee John McCain told the New York Times that Trump made Romney look like "an out-of-touch rich guy without any real core, which means he'll associate with anyone if he thinks it will further his ambition". Conservative columnist George Will called Trump a "bloviating ignoramus" on a TV news show and warned Romney that associating with him would bring a heavy political cost. |
| Romney, who has stated that he does not believe in birtherism, has not spoken out publicly against Trump's views. In a chat with reporters on his campaign plane earlier in the week Romney said: "I don't agree with all the people who support me. And my guess is they don't all agree with everything I believe in." | Romney, who has stated that he does not believe in birtherism, has not spoken out publicly against Trump's views. In a chat with reporters on his campaign plane earlier in the week Romney said: "I don't agree with all the people who support me. And my guess is they don't all agree with everything I believe in." |
| His stance has come under withering assault from the Obama campaign. In a statement emailed to reporters Obama campaign deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said: "Mitt Romney's continued embrace of Donald Trump and refusal to condemn his disgraceful conspiracy theories demonstrates his complete lack of moral leadership." | His stance has come under withering assault from the Obama campaign. In a statement emailed to reporters Obama campaign deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said: "Mitt Romney's continued embrace of Donald Trump and refusal to condemn his disgraceful conspiracy theories demonstrates his complete lack of moral leadership." |
| The Obama campaign also seized on the controversy to rush out a campaign video on the issue, claiming that McCain stood up to extremist elements of the Republican party in 2008 while Romney courts them in 2012. The video featured repeated clips of Trump espousing birtherist theories. But in an apparent rebuttal to that video Trump himself took to Twitter and said: "[McCain] lost the election. Don't let it happen again." The message was later apparently deleted. | The Obama campaign also seized on the controversy to rush out a campaign video on the issue, claiming that McCain stood up to extremist elements of the Republican party in 2008 while Romney courts them in 2012. The video featured repeated clips of Trump espousing birtherist theories. But in an apparent rebuttal to that video Trump himself took to Twitter and said: "[McCain] lost the election. Don't let it happen again." The message was later apparently deleted. |
| In the wake of the renewed controversy, the Romney campaign attempted to shield their candidate. Some local media interviews were cancelled, and Romney avoided talking to journalists at public events. No cameras were permitted to film Romney and Trump at the Las Vegas event, which was expected at raise at least $2m. | In the wake of the renewed controversy, the Romney campaign attempted to shield their candidate. Some local media interviews were cancelled, and Romney avoided talking to journalists at public events. No cameras were permitted to film Romney and Trump at the Las Vegas event, which was expected at raise at least $2m. |
| Though the birth certificate issue was not raised at the Tuesday night Las Vegas fundraiser, former GOP rival Newt Gingrich told reporters that he believed Trump was unlikely to stop advocating it as a cause. At the same time Romney's campaign also released an official copy of their candidate's birth certificate in a move that could be interpreted as a subtle "dog whistle" that they are happy to have the issue being raised by surrogates. | Though the birth certificate issue was not raised at the Tuesday night Las Vegas fundraiser, former GOP rival Newt Gingrich told reporters that he believed Trump was unlikely to stop advocating it as a cause. At the same time Romney's campaign also released an official copy of their candidate's birth certificate in a move that could be interpreted as a subtle "dog whistle" that they are happy to have the issue being raised by surrogates. |
| Certainly, despite the wave of mainstream criticism of the Romney campaign in the past 48 hours, his polling numbers have improved in recent weeks. Romney has narrowed a gap in national polling with Obama and the Real Clear Politics average of polls has Obama with only a narrow two point lead over his Republican challenger. | Certainly, despite the wave of mainstream criticism of the Romney campaign in the past 48 hours, his polling numbers have improved in recent weeks. Romney has narrowed a gap in national polling with Obama and the Real Clear Politics average of polls has Obama with only a narrow two point lead over his Republican challenger. |
| Meanwhile, on Wednesday a new Quinnipiac University poll in the key battleground state of Florida showed Romney opening a six-point lead over Obama by 47% to 41%. The group's previous poll in the state had down the pair essentially tied. | Meanwhile, on Wednesday a new Quinnipiac University poll in the key battleground state of Florida showed Romney opening a six-point lead over Obama by 47% to 41%. The group's previous poll in the state had down the pair essentially tied. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday. |