Today's edition of Parade magazine features an interview with Republican presidential candidate/sultan of Texas Rick Perry, who says he went out to dinner with bloviating birther Donald Trump and now isn't totally sure if President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii or Kenya or on Mercury or what. Donald Trump is that persuasive.

The relevant excerpt from the interview, plz:

Governor, do you believe that President Barack Obama was born in the United States?
 I have no reason to think otherwise.

That's not a definitive, "Yes, I believe he"-
 Well, I don't have a definitive answer, because he's never seen my birth certificate.

But you've seen his.
 I don't know. Have I?

You don't believe what's been released?
 I don't know. I had dinner with Donald Trump the other night.

And?
 That came up.

And he said?
 He doesn't think it's real.

And you said?
 I don't have any idea. It doesn't matter. He's the President of the United States. He's elected. It's a distractive issue.

As ThinkProgress reports, Perry's won the endorsement of birther queen Dr. Orly Taitz J.D. Esq. PhD MSW M.Div., whose profession involves provoking judges into calling her "stupid" by filing meritless lawsuits challenging Obama's citizenship. Definitely someone you want on your side, in other words.

Unless the majority of Americans have also recently dined with Trump, we assume that believing in the Obama birth certificate's authenticity is still "mainstream." Meantime, don't break bread with Donald Trump! Resist temptation! He'll make you dumb—or dumber, as the case may be.

[Parade, via Think Progress. Image via AP]