Is Rick Perry a birther?

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently told PARADE magazine that after talking to Donald Trump he doesn’t know if the birth certificate released by Barack Obama is legitimate.

Trump briefly considered running for president in the Spring. He gained considerable media attention by questioning whether Obama was an natural born citizen and eligible to be President of the United States.

Many of the so-called “birthers” believe there is persuasive evidence that Obama was born in Kenya in 1961 and that his birth certificate was faked in order to make him eligible for the presidency.

In an attempt to quiet the conspiracies, Obama released his long-form birth certificate in late April. It confirmed what his other birth certificate released in 2008 said: the president was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961.

When asked if he believed the birth certificate was real, Perry said he “[didn't] know.”

“I had dinner with Donald Trump the other night,” the presidential candidate explained. “He doesn’t think it’s real.”

“I don’t have any idea,” Perry continued. “It doesn’t matter. He’s the President of the United States. He’s elected. It’s a distractive issue.”

In early September, so-called “birther queen” Orly Taitz told the liberal blog ThinkProgress that Perry was receptive to her message and would bring the issue up during his campaign.

Taitz has made a name for herself since the 2008 presidential election by claiming Obama is not a natural born citizen and thus ineligible for office. Though she has earned a small cult following for her legal efforts, judges have consistently dismissed her lawsuits against Obama’s right to be president as frivolous.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore