Obama: I was born in Hawaii, lack horns

President Obama said Thursday that the decision by some Republicans to question whether he was born in the United States is a problem for the GOP in the long term even if it is "politically expedient in the short-term."

It creates "a problem for them when they want to actually run in a general election where most people feel pretty confident the President was born where he says he was, in Hawaii," Mr. Obama told ABC News. "He -- he doesn't have horns...we're not really worrying about conspiracy theories or -- or birth certificates."

Mr. Obama made the comments in response to a question about the presidential flirtation of Donald Trump, who has been pushing false information and discredited theories about the president's birthplace. Trump was tied for first in one recent national poll of potential GOP presidential candidates.

Mr. Obama told ABC News that he believes voters want a presidential candidate to focus on issues like the economy and deficit.

"And my suspicion is that anybody who is not addressing those questions...Is going to be in trouble," he said. "I think they may get a quick pop in the news. They may get a lot of attention. But ultimately, the American people understand this is a serious, sober time."