By Felicia Sonmez
Felicia Sonmez
National reporter on The Washington Post's breaking political news team

COMMERCE, Mich. — Did Mitt Romney make a birther joke?

It sure seemed like it Friday morning as he made remarks before a crowd of more than 1,000 here in Michigan, the state where he was born and raised.

“I love being home, in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born," Romney said as his wife, Ann, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) stood next to him on the podium.

"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," he said. The crowd laughed and applauded loudly.

Romney actually did release his birth certificate in May. 

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

Spokesman Rick Gorka also downplayed the remarks in a gaggle with reporters after the event. "It's settled," he said. "He's illustrating that he was born and raised here in Michigan."

President Obama's campaign was not impressed. "Governor Romney’s decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across America," said spokesman Ben LaBolt.