FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

News

Is This Obama’s Kenyan Birth Video?

Yesterday afternoon, an anonymous source known only as “Peter R.” reached out to VICE with claims that he had in his possession a video of President Barack Obama’s birth. Peter said that the footage was shot at a hospital in Mombasa, Kenya, on August...

Yesterday afternoon, an anonymous source known only as “Peter R.” reached out to VICE with claims that he had in his possession a video of President Barack Obama’s birth. Peter said that the footage was shot at a hospital in Mombasa, Kenya, on August 4, 1961, by his father, Barack Obama Sr. He sent us the password to a private video on Vimeo, a short clip that appears to depict a white woman who resembles Ann Dunham, Obama’s mother, giving birth to a ginormous black baby. Peter also told us that he has the entire roughly 15-minute video in his possession and has been attempting to reach out to Donald Trump and other prominent birther theorists. We were literally at a loss for words, so we asked Peter if he’d be up for an interview about his “mind-blowing discovery” and, this morning, he said OK and we got on the phone. The whole thing sounds fucking bananas; that’s our official comment on the entire situation so don’t ask us anything more about it, please. We just thought you should know about it is all, whether or not it’s total bullshit.

Advertisement

VICE: Where did you acquire this video that you purport to be footage of President Barack Obama’s birth?
Peter R: An associate from Africa contacted me and said that he had a VHS transfer of the original Super-8 film. I know him from my business trips and he decided to just give me this thing. He said it’s something he got from Obama’s father, a family friend, in the 60s and he’s kept it under wraps ever since Obama entered politics. Up until then, only my friend, his sister, and Obama’s immediately family had seen it—and now myself and the world.

What do you do for a living?
I have a cotton-based import-export business.

When you first reached out to us you claimed that you were also trying to send the video to Donald Trump, and that you had contacted his office. Have they offered any response?
Yeah, Mr. Trump said he has like 5 million bucks to give out. And obviously Obama would never publish his college records and passport application, like Mr. Trump wants. So, the way I see it, that $5 million will go to waste.  Maybe he’s willing to give it to me, to buy the video in its entirety. I’ve been contacting several of Trump’s associates, and I’m about to hopefully meet some of them either in a parking lot, or even in the lobby, and just take cash for it. I sent Trump only a single frame of the video, but since I haven’t heard back I have released this short clip in an attempt to get him to respond.

Advertisement

And what do you think Trump might do with it?
It can be his legacy, basically, because his supposed “October surprise” was very underwhelming. I mean, I keep thinking that my guy in Africa has waited until October for some reason and it’s my mission to spread it.

Your accent doesn’t sound American. What’s your nationality?
I’m Romanian, and I work in the US.

Are you anti-Obama?
I’ve got nothing against him. What’s the big deal if he was born in Kenya? Why shouldn’t he be president? I mean Schwarzenegger, he was born in Austria and he was allowed to be governor. So Schwarzenegger can’t be president because of this law, this thing, either? That doesn’t sound right. And who knows where America starts and ends. Like if Obama was born in a NASA space shuttle… would that mean he wasn’t really American? Like, for instance, McCain was born in an army base outside the US. Who cares.

And you believe this footage to be 100 percent authentic?
I have no reason to doubt it.

Well, that baby is massive. It looks like it’s at least a year old.
Babies are born heavy all the time; I see no issue with that. And I assure you, most of the general public has no idea how big infants are in Kenya.

What?
You might think the US is a fat society, but in Kenya they are born big and then they become light. Which is evidenced by the fact that today, Obama is really light and fit. That’s just the way it is.

You claim to have another 15 minutes or so of footage in your possession. What does it contain?
It’s just like a sweet birth video… his mom and dad holding their newborn son, a few relatives mingling around, the doctors and nurses making sure little Obama is OK…

Advertisement

In the first few frames of the clip you've made public there appears to be a clipboard attached to the bed that lists the patient information of Ann Dunham, Obama’s mother. 
In this film you can only see the mother admission form, but my associate has told me that he holds even more footage that includes Obama’s birth certificate—the real one, from Kenya. He also said that all birth certificates that have been released thus far are fake, including the long-form version from Hawaii that the White House made public last year.

How have you authenticated the original footage? Do you have the original film in your possession?
I took it to a lab and the super-8 film is absolutely genuine.

What do you say to people who will undoubtedly claim that this is a fake, and that you or someone else manufactured it?
I tell them try to prove that it’s not real. I mean, like Trump told the president, the ball is in your court. The ball is in your court, now, Mr. President. We have the proof; what do you have?

Have you reached out to the White House for comment?
Yeah, I’ve been emailing them. I’m just saying you produce the Hawaii birth video. Show me the Hawaii video. This is the only video currently on the market and, in my opinion, the only video, period.

Read more about Obama:

Cornel West Plans to Vote for Obama in November and Protest His Policies in February

Obama Is So, So Fucked

Would You Care if Obama Were Muslim?