Donald Trump row takes shine off Mitt Romney victory

Mitt Romney upped his attacks on US president Barack Obama yesterday after mathematically securing his place as Republican presidential candidate.

On Tuesday, the former Massachusetts governor became the de facto White House challenger with a win in Texas that pushed his delegate count above that needed to take the party’s nomination.

But the triumph was overshadowed by a decision to attend a fundraiser on the same day with Donald Trump, who again attracted ridicule for repeating a claim about Mr Obama’s country of origin.

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The resurrection of the discredited “birther” theory – which claims that the president is not a legitimate US citizen as he was born in Kenya – hijacked the political agenda as Mr Romney sought to embark on a three-month push ahead of the Republican Party’s convention.

The primary win in Texas saw the number of pledged Romney delegates going to the summer convention nudge above the 1,144 threshold needed for him to be named the presidential candidate.

He planned to use the announcement as a springboard to push for donations to Mr Romney’s war chest ahead of a run-off with Mr Obama, which is expected to be the most costly election ever.

It was accompanied by a new line of attack for the candidate: a focus on Mr Obama’s perceived liberal use of central funds to prop up failing companies.

Republican strategists hope to make political capital from the White House’s support of firms such as Solyndra, an alternative energy provider that went bankrupt last year shortly after receiving government loan guarantees worth more than half-a-billion dollars.

The handling of the economy appears to be an area in which the Romney camp believes they can make inroads with independent voters.

After the president’s recent backing of gay marriage, Republican bigwigs were quick to suggest that economic issues and not social ones would be the deciding factor in the forthcoming election.

But, not for the first time, Mr Romney’s campaign team were forced onto the defensive on a day in which they were expected to make the political running.

This time it was Mr Trump’s intervention.

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Talking about papers produced by the White House proving Mr Obama’s Hawaii birth, Mr Trump claimed: “A lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate.”

Challenged that he was “beginning to sound a little ridiculous” on the issue, Trump responded: “I think you sound ridiculous.”

Yesterday, Mr Romney sought to put the birther issue behind him. But his silence on the matter did little to divert attention from Mr Trump’s comments.

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