April 28, 2011: Fox News Pundits Claim Obama Released ‘Long Form’ Certificate to ‘Play the Victim Card’ and as a ‘Distraction’

Brian Kilmeade of the Fox News morning talk show Fox and Friends suggests that President Obama released his “long form” birth certificate (see April 27, 2011) to “play the victim card.” Kilmeade says Obama released the certificate to “build sympathy and empathy from the base and from some independents and say, ‘Well, listen, I’ve really been the subject of a vile campaign against me.’” Fox legal analyst Peter Johnson agrees, claiming, “I think the president’s premise for coming out is wrong, and I think it was done… as a distraction.” Progressive media watchdog organization Media Matters notes that for weeks, conservatives have demanded that Obama release the certificate (see March 23, 2011, March 24, 2011, March 28-29, 2011, April 5, 2011, and April 24-25, 2011). [Media Matters, 4/28/2011]