Obama born in US: White House tells 'birthers'

The White House has struck back at conspiracy theorists known as "birthers" who have questioned President Barack Obama's eligibility to hold America's top office with their persistent claim that he was not born in the US.

"Nothing the White House can do will put the issue to rest," said spokesman Robert Gibbs Monday hitting back at "birthers" who claim that America's first black president was born in Kenya, not Hawaii, and thus ineligible to be president.

"No, the God's honest truth is no - let's understand this," he said when a reporter asked if there is anything more the administration can do to satisfy those who question where the president was born.

"I almost hate to indulge in such an august setting as the White House briefing room discussing the made up fictional nonsense of whether the president was born in this country," Gibbs continued.

"A year and a half ago, I asked that the birth certificate be put on the Internet. Because Lord knows if you got a birth certificate and you put it on the internet, what else could be the story?

"Here's the deal. If I had some DNA, it wouldn't assuage those who don't believe he was born here," Gibbs also said. "I have news for them and all of us. The president was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the 50th state of the greatest country on the face of the earth. He is a citizen."

Gibbs comments came as Republican Senator James Inhofe was quoted in Politico as saying the "birthers" "have a point."

"The point that they make is the Constitutional mandate that the US President be a natural born citizen, and the White House has not done a very good job of dispelling the concerns of these citizens," he said in a statement later clarifying his remarks.

"My focus is on issues where I can make a difference to stop the liberal agenda being pushed by President Obama.