It has been nearly eight years since Barack Obama was elected to the White House, but the president's wife is now admitting she is still very bothered by an issue that has haunted her husband since he burst onto the national political scene: his legal eligibility to serve as president.
On Saturday, first lady Michelle Obama revived the issue of natural-born citizenship during a commencement speech at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
According to ABC News, Mrs. Obama lamented the vitriol directed toward her husband over his term as president, including the "birther" conspiracy theory widely promoted by GOP front-runner Donald Trump just five years ago.
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"And then there's the countless times when that language gets personal and is directed at my husband – charges that he doesn't love our country," Michelle Obama said.
"The time he was called a liar in front of a joint session of Congress. The nonstop questions about his birth certificate and his belief in God."
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As WND reported, a probe by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, found there is probable cause the birth certificate proffered by the White House is actually a forgery.
In addition, there remain unanswered questions regarding the precise hospital at which Barack Obama was born.
During her commencement speech Saturday, Mrs. Obama also complained about "anger and vitriol" in the political environment.
"We pay endless attention to folks who are blocking action, blocking judges, blocking immigration, blocking a raise in the minimum wage. Just blocking," she said. "We are consumed with the anger and vitriol that are bubbling up, with folks shouting at each other, using hateful and divisive language."
The first lady also targeted Mississippi's recently-passed "religious freedom" bill.
"We see it right here in Mississippi – just two weeks ago – how swiftly progress can hurtle backward," Obama said. "How easy it is to single out a small group and marginalize them because of who they are or who they love."
"So we've got to stand side by side with all our neighbors – straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender; Muslim, Jew, Christian, Hindu immigrant, Native American – because the march for civil rights isn't just about African Americans, it's about all Americans," she said. "It's about making things more just, more equal, more free for all our kids and grandkids. That's the story you all have the opportunity to write. That's what this historic university has prepared you to do."