President Trump on Thursday would not reject a conspiracy theory that Kamala Harris is unfit to serve as vice president because her parents were born outside the United States.
Asked about the unfounded and widespread claims during a White House press release, Trump replied, “I heard it today that it does not meet the requirements,” before adding, “I have no idea if that is exactly the case.”
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Harris is a resident of the United States born in 1964 in California, which makes her eligible to serve as Vice President under the Constitution.
However, a law professor at Chapman’s University, John C. Eastman, wrote a piece for Newsweek this week after she was named after the Democratic ticket question of whether Harris is a ‘naturally born citizen’ because she mother was born in India and her father was born in Jamaica.
During Thursday’s press release, Trump appeared to refute the argument by proving the author’s references, saying, “And, by the way, the lawyer who wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, highly talented lawyer.”
“I have no idea if that’s right,” Trump said. “I would have assumed that the Democrats would have checked that out before she was elected to run for vice president.”
The president then said, “You said she was not eligible because she was not born in this country?” The reporter corrected the president to say that Harris was born in the United States, but the issue is about the birthplace of her parents.
“I do not know about that,” Trump said. ‘I just heard about it. I’ll take a look. ‘
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign condemned the president over the remarks, referring to Trump’s involvement in the past and raising false claims that former President Barack Obama may not have been born in the United States.
“Donald Trump was the national leader of the grotesque, racist birthing movement with respect to President Obama and has tried to burn racism and bring our nation apart on every day of his presidency,” Bide director Andrew Bates told Fox News in a statement. ‘That it is therefore not surprising, but no less appalling, that if Trump makes a fool of himself to punish the American people for distracting the terrible toll of his failed coronavirus reaction that his campaign and its allies would be touching, demonstrable false lies in their pathetic despair. “
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Questions were also raised, and largely decided, about the suitability in sen presidential races of sen. Ted Cruz, born in Canada, and the late Senator John McCain, born in the Panama Canal Zone when it was under American control.
Others involved in the administration and the president’s campaign have also rejected the proposal or refused to reject it.
The president’s senior presidential campaign campaigner, Jenna Ellis, shared the controversial column on Thursday morning, hours before Trump was asked about it in the White House.
And in an interview Wednesday on Fox News’ “Special Report,” Trump adviser and sister-in-law Jared Kushner declined to comment.
‘I did not see that. I have not seen the op-ed. That I will reserve judgment for that until I know more about it, “he said.
On Friday, Kushner told “CBS This Morning” that he had no reason to believe she was ineligible while Trump’s controversy promoted the theory.
Eastman mentioned in column 14 of the amendment language that citizens are those who were born or naturalized in the U.S. “and are subject to its jurisdiction” before referring to the status of Harris’ ‘parents’ at the time of their doubting birth.
Other academics rejected Eastman’s argument. The question of her parents’ birthplace is irrelevant, said Christopher Kelley, a professor of political science at Miami University in Ohio.
“No, there is no question about that,” he said. “It has been recognized since the people put it back in the 39th Congress that (the 14th) amendment that people would not only be born to American citizens, but born on American soil.”
The question is not even considered complex, according to advocates of constitution.
“Complete stop, end of story, period, exclamation mark,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School.
A 2011 report from the Congressional Research Service drew a similar conclusion on the matter, noting that although legal issues have arisen for those born abroad to U.S. citizens, “the qualification of native-born citizens in ‘ the US has been in power for more than a century. ”
The report stated: “The weight of legal and historical authority indicates that the term ‘naturally born’ citizen would mean a person entitled to US citizenship ‘by birth’ or ‘by birth,’ by being born ‘in ‘the United States and under its jurisdiction, even those born to foreign parents; by being born abroad to U.S. citizen parents; or by being born in other situations that meet legal requirements for U.S. citizenship’ by birth . ‘ ”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
