White House press secretary Jay Carney on Tuesday rejected suspicions
about President Obama’s birth certificate for a second straight day. 

Reporters peppered Carney with questions about billionaire businessman Donald Trump’s doubts about the president’s birthplace and the certificate itself. He called Obama’s citizenship a “settled issue” and said that all the talk is an “unfortunate distraction from the issues.”

{mosads}”It is unfortunate that, for whatever reason, that instead of focusing
on our economy, [unemployment, the deficit, clean energy, education and foreign affairs] that this is the subject of — to
get any kind of serious attention,” he said.

The White House press corps has pushed Carney on the issue of the president’s birthplace ever since the issue climbed back into the headlines thanks to media coverage of Trump, who is flirting with a presidential run as a Republican.

On Monday, Carney slammed the Rev. Franklin Graham for questioning Obama’s birthplace during a nationally televised interview over the weekend.

Carney reiterated Tuesday that the Obama campaign released his birth certificate in 2008 to prove that he was born in Hawaii.

“Most Americans would be appalled that this is what concerns us here when … there are so many major issues that are facing this country,” he said.