PHOENIX >> Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says the so-called “birther” issue is a potentially destructive issue for the country.

Brewer was interviewed on CNN on Monday about her decision a week ago to veto an Arizona bill that would have required President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove their natural-born citizenship.

Brewer reiterated her veto explanation that the bill was poorly drafted. She also said she believes there’s no question that it was directed at Obama though it’s clear he was born in Hawaii.

She told CNN interviewer John King that the birther issue is leading the nation “down a path of destruction.”

Brewer spokesman Matt Benson did not immediate respond to requests by The Associated Press for elaboration on that remark.