Trump advisor shares racist birther lies about Harris’ eligibility for VP
The right-wing law professor who wrote the essay that has ignited this theory is John C. Eastman, a man who once ran and lost against Harris in an election to be California’s attorney general
The President of the United States said on Thursday that he has “no idea” if Kamala Harris is eligible to be vice president because her parents were immigrants.
The Democratic senator was born in the U.S. which is the qualification to be vice-president or potentially, president. However, an op-ed piece in Newsweek questioned Harris’ eligibility because her parents were not born in the country.
READ MORE: Trump donated $6K to Harris’ AG campaign, floats birther conspiracy
The right-wing law professor who wrote the essay, John C. Eastman, once ran against Harris to be California’s attorney general and lost to her. That fact was not mentioned in the article.
The president called Eastman, “a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer.”
In his essay, Eastman argued that because Harris’ parents were not citizens when she was born in Oakland, California in 1964 that she might not fit the definition of eligibility under the U.S. Constitution.
The argument is reminiscent of the “birther” argument against the former president, Barack Obama. Donald Trump was a vocal proponent of the birther conspiracy prior to and throughout his campaign.
In 2016, Trump reluctantly admitted that Obama was born in Hawaii.
The Trump campaign has openly questioned Harris’ eligibility retweeting questions about her citizenship. “It’s an open question, and one I think Harris should answer so the American people know for sure she is eligible.”
At a press briefing on Thursday, a reporter called Harris an “anchor baby,” a derogatory term about children born of immigrants.
READ MORE: Joe Biden introduces VP pick Kamala Harris at 1st campaign event
“So I just heard that. I heard it today. That she doesn’t meet the requirements and by the way, the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer,” the president answered. “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,” Trump went on, adding that the unfounded claims were “very serious.”
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