Mitt Romney Now
Voters trust Romney on the economy but might not want to get a beer with him. Reuters

Presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has often said President Barack Obama is making personal attacks on him as he remains focused on issues facing Americans, but on Friday Romney was the one getting personal.

Speaking in his native Michigan, Romney appeared to have suddenly become a birther. He took a jab at Obama's birth certificate, a debunked claim that still remains an issue for some who question whether Obama's place of birth is the United States -- and, therefore, whether he could legitimately be president. Obama has released his birth certificate showing he was born in Hawaii.

"I love being home in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born," said Romney, who has mostly stayed away from debates over Obama's place of birth. "Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital. I was born in Harper Hospital. No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised."

Romney's aide Kevin Madden has since released a statement to the media in an effort to prevent any speculation that the GOP's top man himself has doubts about his rival's place of birth.

"The governor has always said, and has repeatedly said, he believes the president was born here in the United States," Madden told the Associated Press. "He was only referencing that Michigan, where he is campaigning today, is the state where he himself was born and raised."

Even though Romney's camp was quick to stamp out any speculation that may arise from the Michigan speech, Obama's camp still went on the offensive.

"Throughout this campaign, Governor Romney has embraced the most strident voices in his party instead of standing up to them," Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a statement. "Governor Romney's decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across America."