Popular Christian leader was asked about Obama’s birth certificate this past weekend. (Daily Mail)
The Obama White House slammed Rev. Franklin Graham over his interview on Easter. Rev. Graham answered a question on Obama’a birth certificate when asked during the pre-recorded Easter interview.
The AFP reported:
The White House scolded evangelical preacher Franklin Graham for making “preposterous charges” on Easter Sunday, after he cited conspiracy theories over President Barack Obama’s birthplace.
Graham, son of famed pastor Billy Graham, an advisor to presidents for decades, described Obama as a “very nice man” but appeared to give credence to charges by some conservatives the president was not born in the United States.
Asked about the charges on Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney chose his words carefully.
“I think it’s unfortunate that a religious leader would choose Easter Sunday to make preposterous charges,” Carney said.
Graham was asked in the interview broadcast on Sunday to weigh in on the issue of Obama’s birthplace, which has been whipped up by radical conservative groups and spawned the so-called “birther” movement.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]“The president, I know, has some issues to deal with here. He can solve this whole birth certificate issue pretty quickly,” Graham said.
Hawaii has released a certified copy of Obama’s birth certificate. The 1961 archives of two local newspapers also show birth announcements and Obama has joked about the whole controversy in recent political speeches.
According to the US Constitution, presidents and vice presidents must be natural born citizens of the United States.
The White House did not release an Easter statement this year.
