The “birther” conspiracy on Vice-President candidate, Kamala Harris, came earlier than political analysts have expected. But the real question is, is there any truth to it?
The “birther” conspiracy tactic was first used on the former president, Barrack Obama, who was the first Black president. The same is now being used against Kamala Harris, who would become—should she win—the first Black vice-president of the United States, who also comes from a South Asian descent.
Conservative law professor challenging Harris’ eligibility?
Per BBC, a conservative law professor has questioned Kamala Harris‘ eligibility to run or to be either the Vice President of the United States or the President. Such a report was based on the op-ed column that Law Professor John Eastman wrote on Newsweek.
He is a law professor at Chapman University in California. Accordingly, his piece cites the 12th Amendment saying that “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”
Is Kamala Harris ineligible to be Vice President under the U.S. Constitution's "Citizenship Clause"? https://t.co/wDj5ijpfjC
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) August 13, 2020
He also added in an excerpt from Article II of the Constitution, which reads, “[n]o person except a natural born citizen…shall be eligible to the office of President.”
He then went on to note that Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican national and a woman from India, neither of which were naturalized as U.S. citizens when Harris was born in 1964.
Because of these supposed facts, “commentators” concluded that Kamala Harris is not a “natural born citizen” of the United States, and therefore, is “ineligible for the office of the vice president.”
Trump comments on Harris’ eligibility
Meanwhile, this issue was brought up in the recent White House briefing, after a journalist asked President Donald Trump about it following the article’s circulation on social media. His campaign adviser, Jenna Ellis, reportedly retweeted the same article.
He answered:
I just 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.
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.
But that’s a very serious, you’re saying that, they’re saying that she doesn’t qualify because she wasn’t born in this country.”
The reporter then clarified that Kamala Harris is indeed born in the United States. It’s just that her parents “might not have been legal permanent residents at that time.”
He then concluded his comment by saying, “I just heard about it, I’ll take a look.”
Analysts are sensing that Trump is using the same “birtherism” he employed with Obama in the past, per CNN. Recognizing that he did hear of Harris’ ineligibility reportedly “gave credence to the conspiracy theory.”
Los Angeles Times emphasized that Harris is, indeed, eligible for the Vice President seat. The publication used the term “extremely qualified” to be VP and even the President of the United States.
Kamala Harris was born in Oaklahoma, California, in 1964. This makes her a natural-born citizen of the country and meets the Constitutional requirements for the national ticket.
Featured image courtesy Juli Hansen/Shutterstock