STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's get into this controversy that has come up over the last couple of days. I saw your tweets yesterday, where you say you didn't have a moral responsibility when that questioner got up and said those things about President Obama. But this is getting a lot of attention, in part, because you've raised questions like this in the past. So, for the record, was President Obama born in the United States?

TRUMP: Well you know I don't get into it, George. I talk about jobs, I'm talking about the military. I don't get into it. I mean, they ask that question and I just want to talk about the things, because frankly, it's of no longer interest to me [sic]. We're beyond that, and it's just something I don't talk about. I want to talk about the military, I want to talk about the vets and how badly they're treated, I want to talk about jobs. I don't get into that, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well the way to get beyond that is to answer yes or no, do you--

TRUMP: Well that's possible, but I don't get into it and I just don't talk about it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And, even though you've raised questions, and you've investigated this in the past, you're still--

TRUMP: Well, you know people thought I should have defended, some people thought I should have defended the president in terms of the question that was asked the other night, and my attitude is, would he have done that for me if somebody had said that about me? And you know, he's been-- he's very capable of defending himself, believe me. So we'll see what happens, but I think the tweets really covered it very well and very accurately. Somebody said they were excellent, they covered the subject, and I actually, it was very interesting because I got in hot water over not saying anything. The first time it's ever happened to me. I didn't say anything, and everybody was going crazy over the weekend. And this is something where I didn't even say anything.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But, I take that point, but you've raised these questions so often in the past. Why can't you just say definitively, yes or no[[, President Obama was born in the United States, you've raised it many times, and he's not a Muslim.

TRUMP: George you have raised a question. I haven't raised a question. I don't talk about it, and I don't like talking about somebody else's faith. He talks about his faith, and he can do that. But I don't talk about other people's faith. It's not appropriate for me to talk about somebody else's faith.

STEPHANOPOULOS: The other big premise of that question is he says that Muslims are a problem in this country. Do you agree

TRUMP: Well, in some cases George. We can say no, and you can be politically correct and you can say everything's wonderful, but I haven't seen people from Sweden going back and leaving after the bombing of the World Trade Center. So certainly it's a problem, and there is a problem--

STEPHANOPOULOS: What is the problem specifically?

TRUMP: And at the same time, excuse me, at the same time we have fabulous people living here, Muslims, and they have done fantastically well. But certainly it is a problem, you look around the world and it is a problem, and you know, if I want to say, “oh no, not at all,” people would laugh at me. Now, it may be the right thing to say, and I really don't care what the right thing to say is. Certainly what's happening with some Muslims, and you know the terrorism and everything else, it seems to be pretty much confined there. So it is a problem, and we can say no but it is.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So then, what specifically is the problem with Muslims in the United States that you would want to address as President?

TRUMP: Well only that there seems to be, to a certain extent, and this is not all-- most are fabulous, and I say that number one point. Most are fabulous, and I have friends that are Muslims. And, by the way, they say there is a problem with certain militants that obviously you report on every night on your newscasts. But there is a problem with militancy and it is something that is gonna have to be solved. And I don't mean a problem here. This is a worldwide problem.

Previously:

Trump And How The Media's Birther Blind Spot Keeps Getting Bigger

Trump Supporter's Anti-Muslim Question References Fringe Myths Stoked By Right-Wing Media

From Fox To The Campaign Trail: Trump Previously Speculated Obama “Is A Muslim”