The White House on Wednesday released President Barack Obama's birth certificate to put an end to questions about his place of birth.
It is "proof positive" that the president was born in Hawaii, the administration said.
The president thought the issue was becoming a "distraction" and the attention was "bad for the American people," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said.
The certificate says Obama was born to an American mother and Kenyan father. It shows Obama's birthplace as Honolulu, Hawaii, and his birth date as Aug. 4, 1961. The hospital is Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital.
According to U.S. laws, a person may become president of the country only if he or she is born in the United States or its territories.
A short form of Obama's birth certificate was posted on the internet during his 2008 election campaign but his origin has of late been repeatedly questioned by potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
"We're not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers," Obama said.
"We are going to have to get serious," he said. "We've got better stuff to do. I've got better stuff to do."
The president admonished the media over their inordinate attention to conspiracies about his birthplace.
"I would not have the networks breaking in if I was talking about [national security]," he said.
WASHINGTON, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
