Birtherism is Back and it’s After Kamala Harris

Posted on by Ariyanna Smith, DI

Birtherism is a movement that questioned former President Barack Obama citizenship and argued that he was ineligible to be president because he is not a US citizen. The movement is a hoax.

What We Know:

  • CNN reported that the movement began when Andrew Martin, a failed politician from Illinois, accused President Obama of lying about his identity. He claimed he was, “A Muslim who concealed his religion.”

  • The movement gained traction as several Republicans endorsed the idea. President Donald Trump also supported the birther theory.
  • President Obama produced a birth certificate showing that he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. This should have dismissed all speculation, but it didn’t.
  • Bill O’Reilly, a Fox News reporter, questioned Trump further about his opinions on Obama’s birth certificate during an interview. He told O’Reilly, “He may have one, but there is something on that birth certificate… maybe religion, maybe it says he’s a Muslim, I don’t know.” Clearly, it was never about President Obama’s citizenship. Birtherism is just a mixture of racism and delusion.
  • Now, Sen. Kamala Harris is being targeted in a similar way after she called out former Vice President Joe Biden for his controversial comments about working with segregationist lawmakers. She also talked about how his opposition of bussing to desegregated schools directly affected her as a young black girl in California.
  • During the Democratic debate, Donald Trump Jr. replied to a tweet that said, “Kamala Harris is *not* an American Black. She is half Indian and half Jamaican. I’m so sick of people robbing American Blacks (like myself) of our history. It’s disgusting. Now using it for debate time at #DemDebate2? These are my people not her people. Freaking disgusting.” The President’s son said, “Is this true? Wow.” The tweet has since been deleted.
  • In response to the tweet, Harris’ campaign communications director, Lily Adams, told CNN, “This is the same type of racist attack his father used to attack Barack Obama.”
  • Sen. Harris’ rivals, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Beto O’Rourke, Corey Booker, Jay Inslee and Julián Castro have come to her defense on social media. Warren called the attack “racist and ugly.” Biden tweeted a similar message denouncing the tactic. Corey Booker tweeted, “.@KamalaHarris doesn’t have s**t to prove.”

If there is one thing the candidates agree on, it’s that birtherism is canceled.

 

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