Fact Check

Was Donald Trump Born in the Philippines?

A satirical poem by Garrison Keillor mocking conspiracy theories led some readers to believe that Donald Trump was born in the Philippines.

Published Sept. 22, 2016

 (Wikipedia)
Image Via Wikipedia
Claim:
Donald Trump was born in the Philippines, and not Queens, New York, as he claims.

On 21 September 2016, the Washington Post published a satirical poem by humorist Garrison Keillor that included a line stating Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was born in the city of Manila in the Phillippines, and not in Queens, New York:

Donald Trump was not born in Queens,
He was born in the Philippines,
In a hotel in downtown Manila.
Where his hair turned bright vanilla

The poem was not preceded or followed by any disclaimers labeling it as satire, leaving some readers fooled into thinking that Keillor was making a bold declaration about Trump's non-American birthplace. However, the opening stanza made it clear that the focus of the poem was to mock Trump's spreading of various conspiracy theories during the 2016 campaign:

I know, it seems outrageous,
But it’s getting a lot of attention
On some very respectable Web pages —
Which mainstream media won’t mention:

Donald Trump was in fact born in Queens, New York. His birth certificate states that he was born at Jamaica Hospital on 14 June 1946:

trump birth certificate

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.