Even after Obama released his official Hawaiian birth certificate in 2008, conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of the birth certificate continued to emerge, and doubts of his U.S. citizenship remained. On August 25, 2012, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney mocked Obama’s birth certificate. Mitt Romney jokingly declared, “No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate.” He continued, “[People] know that this is the place that [I was] born and raised.” Romney’s campaign later stated that the remark was only a joke which was aimed to relieve the tension of the campaign.

   Obama’s campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt declared, “Governor Romney’s decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across America.” LaBolt utilized Romney’s remark to convince Romney supporters to rethink their potential votes for the Republican candidate. Opposite to what LaBolt believes about the remark, Grace Machado (12) says “At this point it does not matter due to the fact that Obama is already the president, so any remark about the birth certificate is irrelevant..” Machado believes that the remark should not be taken seriously and Obama’s campaign should not be focusing on such a petty matter. Justin Shadbehr (10) declared, “Romney was arrogant and pompous about the situation.” Maia Leasure (11) agreed with Shadbehr stating, “Mitt Romney is only trying to start controversy, like all politicians do.”

  Whether or not it was intended as a joke, Romney’s remark regarding Obama’s birth certificate has again created a controversy. Romney’s campaign declared the remark a hearty joke; Obama’s campaign deemed the remark to be an unnecessary insult. The question is: what issue will these two candidates lash out at each other next?