They all made a point of expressing polite incredulity, asking Trump, for example, why he thought George Bush and Bill Clinton had never been asked to produce their birth certificates.

вЂњOutside the Fox universe, I couldnвЂ™t say that any mainstream journalists explicitly gave credence to these bizarre charges. He also singled out NBCвЂ™s Today, вЂњthe same network that aired TrumpвЂ™s reality show The Celebrity Apprentice in prime time and that clearly didnвЂ™t mind the extra publicity its star was generating.вЂќ вЂњWhat I hadnвЂ™t anticipated was the mediaвЂ™s reaction to TrumpвЂ™s sudden embrace of birtherism-the degree to which the line between news and entertainment had become so blurred, and the competition for ratings so fierce, that outlets eagerly lined up to offer a platform for a baseless claim,вЂќ Obama writes, adding that it was not just Fox News that gave Trump a platform but ABCвЂ™s The View and CNN. But Obama still devotes a number of passages to TrumpвЂ™s rise as a national political figure, and makes it clear the extent to which he believes that the Celebrity Apprentice host was aided and abetted by a political environment where entertainment and politics have linked. Promised Land is just part one of the Obama memoirs, as it goes through the death of bin Laden. Far from being ostracized for the conspiracies heвЂ™d peddled, he in fact had never been bigger.вЂќ Their publishers would vie to have him sit at their tables. The same reporters who laughed at my jokes would continue to give him airtime. Trump trafficked in a currency that, however shallow, seemed to gain more purchase with each passing day. What I knew was that he was a spectacle, and in the United States of America in 2011, that was a form of power. I couldnвЂ™t begin to guess what went through his mind during the few minutes I spent publicly ribbing him. He went on, вЂњThe audience howled as Trump sat in silence, cracking a tepid smile. Obama writes, вЂњAs the audience broke into laughter, I continued in this vein, noting his вЂcredentials and breadth of experienceвЂ™ as host of Celebrity Apprentice and congratulating him for how heвЂ™d handled the fact that вЂat the steakhouse, the menвЂ™s cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha SteaksвЂ¦.These are the kinds of decisions that would keep me up at night. Obama needled Trump over the birth certificate matter, but also mocked him for Celebrity Apprentice. About halfway through, I turned my attention directly to Trump,вЂќ he writes. вЂњWhen it was my turn to speak, I stood up and started my routine. Obama writes that he went to the dinner that night, вЂњmy face fixed in an accommodating smile, as I quietly balanced on a mental high wire, my thoughts thousands of miles away.вЂќ intelligence having been tipped to his whereabouts in Pakistan. That was a reference to what was going on in secret at the time: Plans for a raid to take out Osama bin Laden, with U.S. President Obama To Sit Down With Stephen Colbert On 'The Late Show' Next Week

Obama mocks donald trump