Jared Kushner, son-in-law and president-elect Donald Trump, said he “has no reason to believe” that Senator Kamala Harris is ineligible to run for vice president a false birther theory was driven online. But he would not say why Mr. Trump did not take the opportunity to debunk the theory when asked about it at a press conference Thursday.
Harris was born in Oakland, California. Preliminary court ruling has ruled that anyone born in the U.S. is a U.S. citizen, making them eligible for the presidency. Whether or not their parents were naturalized citizens does not change their citizenship or affect their eligibility, an expert on constitutional law told CBS News.
When asked about the theory, which suggested there were questions about the immigration status of Harris’s parents at the time she was born, President Trump praised the law professor who promoted it in a Newsweek column. .
“I heard today that she does not meet the requirements. And in fact, the lawyer who wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer. I have no idea if that is exactly the case,” Mr. Trump said. “I would have assumed that the Democrats would have checked that check before she was elected to run for vice president. But that’s very serious – you say that – they say she’s ineligible because she was not born. in this country? ”
The professor did not actually ask if Harris was born in the United States.
Kushner said he does not think Trump is promoting the theory.
“He just said he had no idea if that was right or wrong,” Kushner co-host Anthony Mason told CBS This Morning.
But, impressed with whether he accepts that Harris is a qualified candidate, Kushner said, “I personally have no reason to believe she is not.”
“She was born in Oakland, California,” Mason Kushner said.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Makes her a qualified candidate. Why didn’t the president take the opportunity to debunk that theory?” Mason asked.
“I have not had a chance to discuss this with him, but let his words speak for themselves again,” Kushner said.
Kusher also discussed the peace distribution between Israel and the United Arab Emirates that Mr. Trump announced Thursday, calling it “a very big victory.”
“This is a dramatic breakthrough that will make the Middle East safer. It means fewer American troops should be there,” he said.
Asked about the argument that the deal is only “symbolic” because Israel is still committed to annexing parts of the West Bank, Kushner retaliated.
“You have the first peace agreement in 26 years, so that’s not symbolic, that’s concrete. But as far as annexation is concerned, the Middle East has a lot of problems. These are problems that have developed over decades,” he said. . “The things that President Trump has really adjusted.”
He added that the administration still “has to deal with the realities on the ground” and that there is “a lot more work to be done.”
About the separate issue of the coronavirus pandemic, Kushner said Mr. Trump does not support a national mask mandate because he “does not believe Washington should tell people how to live their lives.”
“He trusts Americans to make the right decisions for themselves. He trusts governors to make the right decisions,” he said.
The United States had the worst day for COVID-19 deaths since May to Wednesday, with more than 1,500 deaths reported. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warns that the US could face the ‘worst fall’ in history if people do not follow basic guidelines such as wearing masks, washing hands and social distance.
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