“Born in the USA”: Birtherism and the US Presidency
Following the Democratic Party’s nomination of Senator Kamala Harris as their Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2020 election, President Donald Trump claimed in a White House briefing, “I heard it today that she doesn’t meet the requirements.” His comments hinged on a racist birther claim that Harris is not a natural-born US Citizen, and thus is ineligible to hold the office. He added, “I would have assumed, that the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president.”[i] His comments were, of course, completely unfounded. Senator Harris was born in California, making her unequivocally eligible. Trump’s remarks represent yet another example of the racialised rhetoric that has pervaded the Republican Party. Birtherism, as it has come to be known, questions the citizenship status of candidates, falsely accusing them of being ineligible for the presidency. Yet, it stems from baseless nationalistic claims deeply rooted in the […]