Your strange phrase: “’A natural born citizen’ is someone who was an American citizen at the time of their birth”, is meaningless. How, in your mind, is it possible to be a citizen before birth?
Nobody said anything about "before birth."
A baby is born. What country is it a citizen of? No country? The country of one or both parents?
If your mother was an American citizen, you were born an American citizen. Your mom didn't have to fill out any paperwork or anything. You were a citizen at the time of birth.
Seriously, this isn't difficult stuff here.
More difficult than you think.
A US citizen is not necessarily a natural citizen. They are distinct categories of citizenship.
If one is born to a US citizen over the age of consent one is an American citizen. If both parents are over the age of consent and are US citizens the baby is a natural born citizen. Only a natural born citizen, the child of US citizen parents, is able to hold the office of POTUS.
Since one is not considered a citizen until reaching the age of consent it is not possible to transfer citizenship to a child. That is, one must first be a citizen by virtue of reaching at least the legal age of consent to transfer citizenship to one’s offspring. Obama’s mother was a child in the eyes of the law and thus the victim of statutory rape when O was conceived. O is not a legal US citizen either by birth or by place of birth. Much of this is, of course, lost on the legal system.
If you really want to play with the big boys learn to swim in the deep water.
A baby is born. What country is it a citizen of? No country? The country of one or both parents?
If your mother was an American citizen, you were born an American citizen. Your mom didn't have to fill out any paperwork or anything. You were a citizen at the time of birth.
Seriously, this isn't difficult stuff here. ========================================================= If born abroad, Obama was not even a US citizen at birth. Why? According to the US law in effect in 1961, Obama's mother was too young to confer her US citizenship to her son. Law required that US citizen parent of a baby born abroad had to be a US resident for at least 5 years after the age of 14.