Politics

Trump Floats False Kamala Harris Birther Theory After Being Given Every Opportunity To Refute It

Christian Datoc Senior White House Correspondent
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President Donald Trump floated a false theory about presumptive Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris from the White House briefing room podium on Thursday.

Trump campaign senior legal adviser Jenna Ellis propagated the suggestion on ABC that Harris’ birth somehow disqualifies her from holding the presidency. Trump said he had “just heard” about the idea when asked to respond to the theory. (RELATED: Trump Campaign Opens Door For New Kind Of ‘Birtherism’ With Kamala Harris)

Harris was born in Oakland, California to immigrant parents and is qualified to hold the presidency. The new birtherism claim discussed by Ellis suggests that being born on American soil itself does not qualify an individual to be president, despite 122 years of constitutional precedent saying so.

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“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,” Trump said, instead of disputing Ellis’ claim. “I have no idea if that’s right. I would’ve assumed the Democrats would’ve checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president.”

“That’s very serious. They are saying she doesn’t qualify because she wasn’t born in this country,” he continued. “I don’t know about that, I just heard about it. I’ll take a look.”

Before running for office, Trump was a vocal supporter of the Birther theory, which suggested former President Barack Obama was actually born in Kenya and was therefore not qualified to be president.

He reversed that claim in 2016 after declaring his candidacy.