Trump refuses to refute fake Birther smears from Kamala Harris.

President Donald Trump was given several opportunities to immediately reject the baseless claim that sen. Kamala Harris could be unreachable to serve as vice president. Trump repeatedly refused. Days after giving credit to the racist conspiracy theory, Trump vehemently denied repeated opportunities to state the obvious fact that Joe Biden’s running mate is an American citizen born in Oakland, California. The president said on Saturday that his campaign would not push the issue “I just do not know about it, but it is not something we will pursue,” Trump told reporters.

A reporter had asked the president to say that Harris was eligible to become vice president of the country, but Trump in particular refused to say anything that could put an end to all baseless conspiracy theories. ‘I have nothing to do with it. I read something about it. “Tump said. “I know nothing about it, but it’s not something that bothers me.” When he was pressed on the issue, Trump continued to push back: “I just do not know,” he said. The president then apparently became angry at the reporter who suggested he knew the claims were not true. “Don’t tell me what I know,” he said. He kept insisting that he had no idea what the truth might be. “For me, it does not bother me,” he said. ‘I do not know about it. I read one quick article. The lawyer happens to be a brilliant lawyer, as you probably know. He wrote an article that said it could be a problem. It’s not something I will pursue. ”

Pressed again to comment on Harris’ eligibility, Trump repeated the same message, making it clear that it was his planned response and not an off-the-cuff response. ‘I just told you. I did not go into detail, ”he said before suggesting that if there had been a problem, he was sure the Democratic campaign would have found it. “If she had a problem,” he said, “you would have thought she would be thought of by Sleepy Joe.”

The article that Trump probably referred to was the op-ed by John Eastman published by Newsweek that was widely condemned. Trump may think Eastman is a “brilliant lawyer,” but in truth he is “a fabulist whose toxic views have grown like cancer on the right, and formed the pseudo-intellectual basis for birtherism 2.0,” as Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern wrote. . Newsweek has since apologized for the op-ed after several staff members publicly criticized the decision to carry out the piece. “This op-ed is used by some as a tool to combat racism and xenophobia. We apologize, ”reads the note from the editor who is now at the top of the piece. “We did not succeed at all in anticipating the ways in which the essay would be interpreted, disturbed and armed.” Although many, including staff members, asked to take the piece off, Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer and editor-in-chief Nancy Cooper said the piece would remain on the page with the note added, because “we believe in being transparent. ”

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