The Trump campaign is trying to spread a birther conspiracy about Kamala Harris

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 13 August 2020

The Trump campaign is bringing back some of President Trump's old tricks.

Trump has repeatedly pushed a racist conspiracy theory claiming former President Barack Obama wasn't born in the U.S., and now it appears his staffers are taking a similar approach against new vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).

Jenna Ellis, a Trump campaign legal advisor, hopped on Twitter on Thursday and retweeted an op-ed that attempts to make a dubious argument against Harris' eligibility for the vice presidency. The op-ed, which has been thoroughly denounced as "nonsense," argues that even though Harris was born in Oakland, the fact that her parents are immigrants from Jamaica and India may raise questions about her citizenship qualifications as VP.

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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.

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