Donald Trump's dizzying history of birtherism, in just 3 minutes
"We all agree: He was born, okay."
That's about as generous as Donald Trump is willing to get about the circumstances surrounding President Barack Obama's American citizenship. This week, the issue of Trump's birtherism has resurfaced, as he refused Thursday night to say outright that he knows Obama was born in the U.S. — though his campaign subsequently released a statement confirming that fact, and Trump's knowledge of it. (Obama was born in Hawaii, as proven by his publicly available long-form birth certificate, which he released in 2011.)
Trump was an early, adamant promoter of the birther theory — and he's somehow managed to give the issue legs through the 2016 election, one where Obama isn't even on the ballot. Below, a video summary of Trump's multi-year campaign of doubt against Obama's heritage, courtesy of Media Matters. Kimberly Alters
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
US citizens are carrying passports amid ICE fearsThe Explainer ‘You do what you have to do to avoid problems,’ one person told The Guardian
-
All roads to Ukraine-Russia peace run through DonetskIN THE SPOTLIGHT Volodymyr Zelenskyy is floating a major concession on one of the thorniest issues in the complex negotiations between Ukraine and Russia
-
Why is Trump killing off clean energy?Today's Big Question The president halts offshore wind farm construction
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
