A Colorado Republican is backing away from unprompted comments he made about President Obama’s past at a fundraiser earlier this month. Referring to Obama, Rep. Mike Coffman said “in his heart, he’s not an American” in his comments wrapping up May 12 fundraser.
From KUSA-TV:
At a May 12 fundraiser at the Elbert County Fairgrounds, Coffman wrapped up a 12-minute speech to donors with an unprompted discussion of President Obama’s citizenship and national identification.
“I don’t know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don’t know that,” Coffman said. “But I do know this, that in his heart, he’s not an American. He’s just not an American.”
After a short pause, which Elbert County Republican Chairman Scott Wills recalled as “deafening silence,” Coffman was met with applause, tentative at first.
Later, Coffman told KUSA “I misspoke and I apologize” in a written statement. The audio from May 12:
Read the KUSA report here.
