Donald Trump visited On The Record last night where he repeatedly made the ludicrous claim that he’d prefer to be discussing business, not birtherism, and that it’s really the media’s fault that he keeps getting asked about it. Host Greta Van Susteren could have and, in my opinion, should have cut him to shreds over that but the job she did do was not too shabby. Still, since she clearly doubted much of what Trump told her, you have to wonder why she didn’t question Trump about the results of his investigation in Hawaii he boasted about last year.

Although Trump pretended to be proud of his birtherism, that was belied by his numerous claims that if it were up to him, he’d not be discussing it.

“I’ve always felt that there were a lot of holes in this whole situation,” he told Van Susteren. “There’s a lot of questions as to the authenticity of the birth certificate… This is hitting very close to home. This is not something that (President Obama) enjoys… I actually semi know for a fact that they hate the subject.”

As he spoke, a banner on the screen read, Birther controversy reignited: Trump still not convinced Pres born in U.S. (as a graphic of Obama’s birth certificate appeared on the screen).”

Another banner read: “Many questions” remain about Pres. Obama’s birth.

Van Susteren, openly skeptical about Trump’s birtherism, asked him what would satisfy him that Obama’s birth certificate is genuine. “It’s not up to me, has nothing to do with me,” Trump said.  Then just why was he conducting that investigation in Hawaii that he now forgot about? Or was he really conducting one in the first place?

Trump continued, “With all of that being said, I think it’s much more important at this point to talk about what’s going on with OPEC, what’s going on with China, what’s going with virtually every country in the world that is just ripping the United States.”

Van Susteren said she thinks the Obama campaign “actually enjoys” having the birther issue “pinned to” Trump. She also said that every time Trump talks about the birther issue, “we’re not talking about OPEC, we’re not talking about jobs, we’re not talking about China, we’re doing all this name calling.”

Trump said, “That’s because you and everybody want to bring this up. I don’t bring it up. You didn’t call me and you asked me if I’d do the show, I didn’t ask you and I said yes I would do the show and, frankly, if you would have not brought up the birth certificate or the place of birth, I wouldn’t be discussing it with you. Every time I speak to you, or every time I speak to whoever, they bring it up. “

Now, that’s an outright lie. There are plenty of times that Trump goes on On The Record where Van Susteren does not ask about his birtherism. Furthermore, Trump could easily say there’s nothing more to discuss about Obama's birth and move on.

In yet another hint that Trump knew that birtherism isn't doing him any good, he said, “I much prefer talking about jobs, ‘cause I’m really good at that. I’d much prefer talking about the economy, I’d much prefer talking about other nations and what they’re doing to us and how they’re hurting us and how we can solve that problem.”

Van Susteren acknowledged that she had brought the subject up “but it’s also become part of the campaign.” She pointed out that the Obama campaign is using Trump’s birtherism against Mitt Romney.

Trump responded by saying that it’s electrifying people on both sides. Then, in a tacit acknowledgment that he’s no reluctant birther, he said that when John McCain took the issue off the table in 2008, “Unfortunately, that worked out very well for Obama, not very well for Senator McCain… and that’s the way it is… Maybe people shouldn’t do what Senator McCain did.” He later said, “I actually think it’s a very good issue for Mitt Romney.”

Then in another sign of defensiveness, he said he doesn’t like the word “birther” because “I think it’s very condescending to a very important issue.”

Near the end of the interview, Van Susteren asked again what would satisfy Trump that Obama really was born in the U.S. Once again, Trump would not answer, other than to say, “good solid proof.”

A banner on the screen read: TRUMP: “GOOD SOLID PROOF” OF OBAMA BIRTH WOULD BE WONDERFUL

You can tweet Trump at @realDonaldTrump or Van Susteren at @Gretawire