Donald Trump

Donald Trump, left, and Carl Paladino, who ran for governor of New York as a Republican in 2010, speak during a gun rights rally at the Empire State Plaza on Tuesday, April 1, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. Paladino now co-chairs Trump's New York campaign for president. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

(Mike Groll)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Carl Paladino, the Buffalo businessman who co-chairs Donald Trump's New York campaign, has renewed the false claim that President Barack Obama is a Muslim.

Paladino added a new twist to the claim, saying Obama's foreign policy record proves that he is not Christian.

"In the mind of the average American, there is no doubt he is a Muslim," Paladino told the New York Observer on Thursday night. "He is not a Christian."

Paladino added, "Look at what he's done with Iran, what he's done with the Sunni-Shia thing over in Iraq and Iran, and with ISIS."

The Observer noted that Obama, a practicing Christian, has been the subject of conspiracy theories about his faith since 2008.

Obama attended Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ for more than 20 years, and has worshiped with his family at several churches in Washington, D.C. since moving into the White House.

The Observer, owned by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, reported that claims questioning Obama's Christian faith have been widely debunked and that polls show 18 to 29 percent of the populace nevertheless believe he is Muslim.

Paladino ran an insurgent campaign with Tea Party support to capture the Republican nomination for New York governor in 2010, but lost in the general election.

The Buffalo real estate developer has been one of Trump's top political allies in New York, helping direct his successful presidential primary campaign in the Empire State.

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