Trump blasts Obama on 'Today' show

NEW YORK, April 7 (UPI) -- Billionaire Donald Trump criticized U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday but said he hasn't yet declared himself a presidential candidate as it would hurt NBC.

The real estate developer, TV star and self-avowed Tea Party member said in on NBC's "Today" show he has "real doubts" Obama is a citizen of the United States, attacked the Obama administration's actions in Libya and said Congress' inability to agree on a budget bill to avoid a federal government shutdown is an indictment of Obama,

"(Obama's) grandmother in Kenya said he was born in Kenya, and she was there and witnessed the birth. He doesn't have a birth certificate or he hasn't shown it. He has what's called a certificate of live birth. That is something that's easy to get. When you want a birth certificate, it's hard to get," Trump said.

The Web site PoliticiFact.com pointed out Thursday the assertion about Obama's grandmother has "long ago been debunked."

The most recent NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll indicates Trump, with 17 percent of the vote, is tied with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as a close second to Mitt Romney among potential GOP hopefuls for the presidency.

Trump said his involvement with "The Celebrity Apprentice," NBC's hit series, is one of the reasons he hasn't yet declared his candidacy.

"It sounds so trivial and I hate to even bring it up. But I'm not allowed to run during the show. It's a great show, and it's got phenomenal ratings. And until that show is over, I can't declare, because otherwise NBC would have to take the show off the air and I think that would be very unfair to NBC," Trump said.