Trump embroiled in new ‘birther’ conspiracy
US president hints at press briefing that Democrat runner for vice-president may be ineligible to stand
DONALD TRUMP has said he will look into claims that Kamala Harris is ineligible to run for the US vice-presidency because her parents were immigrants, prompting a backlash over his interest in a baseless new “birther” conspiracy.
Instead of categorically knocking back the claim when asked about it, the president praised the lawyer who wrote a piece speculating she may not be allowed to run for the post because she was not a natural born citizen.
Ms Harris was born in Oakland, California, in 1964. The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution states that “all persons born or naturalised in the United States” are citizens.
Unfounded remarks online claimed that because her Indian mother and Jamaican father may not have been US residents at the time of her birth she did not meet the requirement to be a “natural born citizen”. Constitutional lawyers quickly dismissed the claim and prominent US fact-checkers confirmed Ms Harris’s status as a US citizen, meaning the claim was false.
But Mr Trump was more equivocal at a White House briefing on Thursday, saying: “So I just heard that. I heard it today that she doesn’t meet the re- quirements, and, by the way, the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer.
“I have no idea if that’s right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice-president.”
Republicans were among those dismiss the claims, with Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for South Carolina and Trump confidant, saying “there is no issue as to whether or not she is an American citizen”.
The lawyer Mr Trump appeared to have referenced was John Eastman, a conservative law professor who wrote an opinion piece for Newsweek headlined online “Some Questions for Kamala Harris About Eligibility”.
The backlash against the article led to Newsweek adding an editor’s note stating: “Some readers reacted strongly to this essay, seeing it as an attempt to ignite a racist conspiracy theory. That is entirely inaccurate.”
Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-inlaw and senior White House adviser, at first appeared to give credence to the claims in an interview with CBS before back-tracking. He said: “At the end of the day, it’s something that’s out there,” but when pushed added: “I personally have no reason to believe she’s not.”
Ms Harris’s sister Maya appeared to hit out at Mr Trump’s comments, tweeting: “There are no gradations of birtherism. You’re either in or you’re out.”
Mr Trump was a prominent proponents of the original “birther” conspiracy that claimed Barack Obama was not born in the US and should never have been allowed to become president.
Mr Trump’s relentless pushing of the idea, demanding Mr Obama release his birth certificate, helped launch his political career, which eventually saw him claim the White House.