In his first big interview as Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH) told NBC’s Brian Williams that he believes President Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen, but won’t tell the other members of his caucus “what to think.”
“The state of Hawaii has said that President Obama was born there,” Boehner said. “That’s good enough for me.”
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Meet The New House Republican Leadership]
Williams then pressed Boehner on whether he will tell some of his colleagues — who are co-sponsoring legislation that doubts Obama’s citizenship — to move on from the issue.
“Brian, when you come to the Congress of the United States, there are 435 of us,” Boehner said. “We’re nothing more than a slice of America. People come, regardless of party labels, they come with all kinds of beliefs and ideas. It’s the melting pot of America. It’s not up to me to tell them what to think.”
This morning, when lawmakers read the Constitution in its entirety on the House floor, an apparent member of the birther movement yelled out during the “natural born citizen” clause, “Except Obama, except Obama, help us Jesus!”
Watch:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
