Here we go again: Birtherism 2.0
As I write this, 170,415 precious human beings — Americans all — lay dead from coronavirus, thanks to Republicans in general and Donald Trump in particular. If you’re a conscience-free sociopath without the smallest scintilla of empathy, one way to distract from this ignominious genocide would be to incite fear and hatred by blowing a racist, misogynistic dog whistle. And, here we go again, Trump has blown that dog whistle, by openly giving oxygen to the racist absurdity that Kamala Harris isn’t qualified to be Vice President of the United States because her parents were immigrants. Welcome to Birtherism 2.0.
Trump’s introduction into politics began with his quest to prove a similar absurdity, that Barack Obama wasn’t an American citizen, or that he was Kenya-born, or some farcical variation on that leitmotif. Trump’s inauguration (if you’ll pardon the word) into this latest flavor of Birtherism came during a recent press Q&A when he was asked about an article stating that Kamala Harris wasn’t qualified because she was an “anchor baby” born before her parents could finish their application for permanent residency.
Trump’s response, which was so ignorant it would be laughable if the pain from the last time he ventured into this kind of racism wasn’t still with us, was to suggest the absurdity that Harris wasn’t even born in America. The reporter corrected him to say that she was. The “controversy” came from her so-called “anchor baby” status.
This preposterousness was manufactured from whole cloth from a racist opinion piece written by John C. Eastman in Newsweek, suggesting Kamala Harris’s ineligibility. “The lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer,” Trump replied, coming just short of calling him a “very fine person.” Like I said, here we go again.
To this day there are still cretins dragging their knuckles hither and thither across the American landscape who believe that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim born in Kenya, thanks to the “Birtherism” myth, popularised and sustained by Donald Trump. Such is the damage caused whenever malignant racists like Donald Trump pursue lies, then unapologetically abandon those lies when they’re disproved. Trump will never admit he was mistaken, of course, so the myth has become indelibly written across the firmament of fools.
The idea is that, as Vice President, Kamala Harris could become President of the United States should Joe Biden die in office. The Constitution says the president must be a naturally born American citizen. The so-called natural-born citizen clause of the United States Constitution has been liberally interpreted in the past. Of the 44 individuals who have become president, seven had at least one parent who was not born on American soil. So this question shouldn’t even come up. Harris was born on American soil, that’s the end of it.
Will this staggering idiocy dog Kamala Harris’ candidacy? I hope not. But don’t be surprised if it does. It will be all the greater shame because this whole piece of garbage calumny will undoubtedly be given oxygen by the festering turd named Donald Trump, who has routinely defecated on the Constitution himself, has never read it and couldn’t care less what it has to say. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.