Three Lies About Birtherism To Look Out For In Donald Trump’s Speech
The Trump campaign issued a statement with falsehoods about Trump’s long-propagated theory that President Obama was not born in the US.
1. Donald Trump said he plans in a speech Friday to address his false conspiracy theory that President Obama was born in Kenya.
2. Hours after Trump refused to address the question of whether he believed Obama was born in the US in a Washington Post interview, his campaign on Thursday released a statement saying, “Trump believes that President Obama was born in the United States.”
3. Here are three lies that Trump may mention in his speech Friday.
4. 1. Hillary Clinton first raised the birther issue to smear Obama during the 2008 election.
The most persistent lie about Obama’s background was began in 2004 when Andy Martin, a Illinois candidate distributed a press release — which was widely shared — saying that Obama was a Muslim who concealed his religion.
The idea that Obama was born outside the US evolved from that theory, and was then picked up by Obama’s enemies — including some Clinton supporters during the 2008 campaign and Republican after he was elected.
But neither Clinton nor any of her staff ever publicly — or even privately to reporters who covered them closely — suggested that there was a mystery around Obama’s birth. The first public figures to embrace the theory were Republican members of the House of Representatives, followed by Donald Trump.
5. 2. Trump settled the controversy in 2011 — and brought it to a “conclusion” when Obama released his full certificate showing he was born in Hawaii.
By that time, prominent Republicans were knocking down the conspiracy theory.
As Politico reported in 2011:“I believe the president was born in the United States. There are real reasons to get this guy out of office,” former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said recently.
“I don’t question the authenticity of his birth certificate, but I do question what planet he’s from when I look at his policies,” former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty joked.
And the talk radio host Michael Medved warned against embracing what has now become a staple of the racist right: “It makes us look weird. It makes us look crazy. It makes us look demented. It makes us look sick, troubled, and not suitable for civilized company,” he said in 2009. “I’m not a conspiracist, but this could be a very big conspiracy to make conservatives disgrace themselves.”
6. 3. That he stopped pushing the theory in 2011.
Trump raised questions about Obama’s citizenship as recently as 2014.
7. In August 2012, he said an “extremely credible source” told him that Obama’s birth certificate was a fraud.
An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that @BarackObama's birth certificate is a fraud.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
8. In September 2012, he shared an article claiming that Obama’s birth certificate was a fake.
Wake Up America! See article: "Israeli Science: Obama Birth Certificate is a Fake" http://t.co/f7esUdSz
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
9. In December 2013, he suggested that the death of an official who verified Obama’s “birth certificate” was suspicious.
How amazing, the State Health Director who verified copies of Obama’s “birth certificate” died in plane crash today. All others lived
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
10. In September 2014, Trump asked hackers to hack into Obama’s college records to check his “place of birth.”
Attention all hackers: You are hacking everything else so please hack Obama's college records (destroyed?) and check "place of birth"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Tom Namako contributed to this report.
- Donald Trump's campaign says he believes President Obama was born in the US after he refused to state his position.
- An intelligence committee has condemned former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in a scathing report. Members said he's not a whistleblower but "a criminal."
- The UK Independence Party has a new leader: Diane James. She's Brexit-campaigner Nigel Farage's successor and the first woman to hold the position.
More News
-
Thunderstorms, Rain, Flash Flooding, And Travel Chaos Follow Heatwave
-
Thousands Of Mexicans Spent Their Independence Day Telling The President To Resign
-
13-Year-Old Tyre King Fatally Shot By Police Over BB Gun During Chase In Ohio
-
NYPD Officers Attacked With Meat Cleaver, Suspect Shot
-
Here Are The Athletes Protesting During The National Anthem
-
The Samsung Galaxy Note7 Has Been Formally Recalled In The US For Explosion Risks
-
Arizona To Curtail Controversial “Paper, Please” Immigration Checks
