Corsi said Trump specifically wanted to know what will happen next in the campaign to reveal the truth about Obama.

"He asked, 'aren't you discouraged?'" said Corsi.

"But why should I be discouraged? There's breaking news about Obama's eligibility, the book is selling well," he said.

Listen to Corsi's account of the conversation:

 

"I told him he needs to publicly say that the document in the vault, the original long-form birth certificate, needs to be exposed and examined independently," Corsi said. "The doctor's records, the Kapiolani records of Ann Dunham to corroborate she was in that hospital."

"I told him if you don't press these issues you can't be surprised if there are those who think you're working with Barack Obama [on the dispute]," Corsi added.

During much of April Trump made regular appearances on talk shows and news broadcasts, and almost every time either he or the interviewer raised questions about Obama's eligibility. At the same time, he regularly was in conversation with Corsi and others who helped Corsi investigate the Obama eligibility dispute about the evidence that exists.

As a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll demonstrated, by raising questions about Obama's eligibility repeatedly, going as far as suggesting Obama's tenure might be illegal, Trump rose in popularity among GOP voters.

In that poll, 19 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they'd likely support Trump for the 2012 GOP nomination.

His support rose from only 10 percent just a month earlier.

WND has reported on Trump's statements regarding Obama's eligibility:

"There's something fishy about the whole thing," Trump has said of Obama's background, birth story and constant refusal to release a wide range of documents that would reveal information about his heritage and upbringing.

He said he's convinced Obama doesn't have a birth certificate, or if he does, "there's something on that certificate that's very bad for him."

He noted that even Obama's own family members have been unable to agree at which hospital he was born.

 

Trump has also been skeptical regarding the oft-cited 1961 Honolulu newspaper notices.

"I see so much fraud in this world, an ad like that could have been staged. I see so many fraudulent things going on that would be like the least of it," Trump said.

He suggested it was incredible that no doctor, nurse or other person has come forward to recall the birth of such a famous person.

Trump told Fox News host Bill O'Reilly the significance of the dispute isn't clear to many people.

"If you are going to be the president of the United States you have to be born in the United States – and there is doubt [about Obama]," he said. "If he wasn't born in this country, it's one of the great scams."

Trump also was on MSNBC, where he was asked whether it was a serious issue:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"There is certainly a chance that he was not born in this country. Now if he was not born in this country, that means he can't be president. It's very simple," Trump explained.

Today, Corsi said Trump repeatedly asked him to be alerted, first, to what was going to be reported on the eligibility questions, and even suggested he might "jump back in," presumably meaning the GOP contest.

Meanwhile, ABC has reported Trump told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" this week that he wouldn't rule out a late entry into the race.

"I am not seeing a lot out of the Republican candidates," he told the show.

A blog called Be Elected had speculated that the Trump surge was being coordinated by Democrats to boost Obama.

"Obama's campaign could easily use Trump's candidacy to power the Democrats' classic default election strategy – scare the Democratic Party base back to the polls. The presence of a foul-mouthed, Big Business BogeyMan like Trump could easily dovetail into some compelling Democratic Party ads depicting the coming downfall of the working class, civil rights, the environment, and 'Main Street.' Of course, an Obama presidency would be the only hope against this doom scenario."