华盛顿——总统唐纳德·特朗普周四，一个虚假的种族主义阴谋论被证实卡马拉·哈里斯成为副总统的资格，助长了一场网上的错误信息运动，这场运动与他用来推动自己从政的运动类似。
在白宫被问及此事时，特朗普告诉记者，他“听说”有传言称哈里斯不符合在白宫任职的条件。哈里斯是一名黑人女性，在美国出生，父母是移民。总统说他认为谣言“非常严重”。
阴谋论是错误的。哈里斯本周被乔·拜登作为民主党候选人的竞选伙伴，他出生在加利福尼亚州的奥克兰，根据宪法规定，他有资格同时担任副总统和总统。根据宪法律师的说法，这个问题甚至不算复杂。
洛约拉法学院的杰西卡·莱文森教授说:“句号，结尾，句号，感叹号。”
特朗普的政治生涯建立在质疑政治对手的合法性之上。他是所谓“出生地运动”背后引人注目的力量——这个谎言质疑美国第一位黑人总统巴拉克·奥巴马总统是否有资格任职。特朗普只是在2016年竞选期间承受越来越大的压力后，才否认了这些说法。
特朗普的言论引发了社交媒体和保守网站上其他大量不真实的、种族主义的或性别歧视的言论，此前拜登选择了哈里斯，这是第一位获得主要政党提名的黑人女性和第一位亚裔美国女性。这场误传运动建立在几个月来流传不太明显的谎言之上，这些谎言是由特朗普的支持者推动的，现在则是总统本人。
特朗普说:“我不知道这是否正确。”他说自己在周四早些时候读过一篇关于这个话题的专栏。“我本以为，我本以为，民主党人会在她被选为副总统候选人之前核实这一点。”
特朗普在回答一名记者的问题时发表了上述评论，似乎是指约翰·伊斯曼(John Eastman)撰写的一篇专栏文章，他是一名保守派律师，主张美国宪法不赋予与生俱来的公民身份。伊斯曼根据她父母的移民身份对哈里斯的资格产生了怀疑。哈里斯的母亲出生在印度，父亲出生在牙买加。
但是宪法专家说哈里斯的父母与此无关。第14修正案赋予所有在美国出生的人公民身份，宪法第二条第1款规定，候选人必须年满35岁，在美国居住至少14年，才有资格担任副总统和总统。
俄亥俄州迈阿密大学的政治学教授克里斯托弗凯利说:“不，这是毫无疑问的。”“自从人们在第39届国会起草宪法以来，人们就认识到(第14次)修正案将不仅涵盖美国公民所生的人，而且涵盖在美国土地上出生的人。”
周四上午，在特朗普在白宫新闻发布会上被问及此事的几小时前，总统竞选连任的高级律师詹娜·埃利斯分享了有争议的伊斯曼专栏。特朗普指出，该专栏是由“一位非常有资格、非常有才华的律师”撰写的
特朗普发言后，共和党全国委员会发言人迈克尔·阿伦斯(Michael Ahrens)表示，该党没有计划挑战哈里斯的民主党候选人资格。
伊斯曼是查普曼大学福勒法学院的前院长，也是保守的克莱蒙研究所的高级研究员。根据他在研究所网站上的简历，他还担任过最高法院法官克拉伦斯·托马斯的法律助理。
他还参加了2010年的共和党初选，担任加州司法部长。伊斯曼被一名候选人击败，该候选人后来输给了哈里斯。
《新闻周刊》发表了颇具争议的伊士曼专栏文章，质疑哈里斯与生俱来的资格，为这篇文章辩护称，伊士曼“关注的是一场关于第14修正案的由来已久、有些晦涩难懂的法律辩论”，而不是试图“点燃围绕卡马拉哈里斯候选资格的种族主义阴谋论。”"
当哈里斯在2019年宣布竞选白宫时，网上关于她的谣言和猜测首次浮出水面。在她被宣布为拜登的竞选伙伴的前几天，一条带有误导性信息的病毒式帖子再次被转载，支持特朗普的脸书用户在群体中和他们的页面上传播这条信息。
自从去年开始竞选白宫以来，哈里斯一直是错误信息的首要目标。妇女团体联合起来，大声疾呼有关哈里斯和其他女性候选人的性别歧视、种族主义和错误信息，并指出最近几天保守派人物关注她的种族和性别的其他例子。
福克斯新闻主持人塔克·卡尔森在周二晚上的节目中多次念错了哈里斯的名字，当一位嘉宾纠正他时，他变得激动起来，告诉卡尔森这是出于尊重。卡尔森回答，“那又怎样?”然后又念错了她的名字，两次。
致力于制止职场骚扰的《时代周刊》副总裁阿曼达·哈灵顿说:“这当然是一个小问题。”她说，在工作场所，这是一种对有色人种的不尊重。她还补充说，在国家舞台上，“这是对今天谁应该成为领导的错误描述。”
在拜登宣布他的选择几分钟后，保守派评论员坎迪斯·欧文斯在她的脸书页面上发布了一条虚假攻击，声称哈里斯只是在总统选举前才开始承认自己是黑人。欧文斯写道，在此之前，哈里斯只把自己描述为印第安裔美国人，这是不准确的。
在24小时内，将近20万用户喜欢这个帖子——比拜登自己在脸书上宣布他的选择更引人注目。
哈里斯被指控因性关系而进入政界，这一性别歧视的说法在社交媒体和其他地方广为流传——包括保守的在线杂志《美国观察家》(The American Observant)上的一篇文章，文章称她为“床垫”周三，总统的儿子埃里克·特朗普(Eric Trump)喜欢在推特上称她为“了不起的女人。”
哈灵顿说:“这不是迈克·彭斯经历过的事情，也不是蒂姆·凯恩经历过的事情。”
但特朗普质疑其他竞争对手在白宫任职的资格。2016年，共和党提名战引发了竞争对手特德·克鲁兹是否符合“天生”公民要求的问题。克鲁兹出生在加拿大，但他的母亲出生在美国。
同样，在2008年，人们开始质疑参议员约翰·麦凯恩是否有资格成为“天生的公民”，因为他出生在他父亲驻扎的巴拿马运河区。关于麦凯恩资格的问题激起了两党的愤怒，参议院通过了一项不具约束力的决议，宣布麦凯恩成为共和党总统候选人，他是一个天生的公民。奥巴马在2008年的白宫竞选中击败了麦凯恩，他甚至是麦凯恩决议的共同提案人。
Trump gives credence to false, racist Harris conspiracy
WASHINGTON -- PresidentDonald Trumpon Thursday gave credence to a false and racist conspiracy theory aboutKamala Harris’ eligibility to be vice president, fueling an online misinformation campaign that parallels the one he used to power his rise into politics.
Asked about the matter at the White House, Trump told reporters he had “heard” rumors that Harris, a Black woman and U.S.-born citizen whose parents were immigrants, does not meet the requirement to serve in the White House. The president said he considered the rumors “very serious.”
The conspiracy theory is false. Harris, who was tapped this week byJoe Bidento serve as his running mate on the Democratic ticket, was born in Oakland, California, and is eligible for both the vice presidency and presidency under the constitutional requirements. The question is not even considered complex, according to constitution lawyers.
“Full stop, end of story, period, exclamation point,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School.
Trump built his political career on questioning a political opponent’s legitimacy. He was a high-profile force behind the so-called “birther movement” — the lie that questioned whether President Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was eligible to serve. Only after mounting pressure during his 2016 campaign did Trump disavow the claims.
Trump’s comments landed in a blizzard of other untrue, racist or sexist claims unleashed across social media and conservative websites after Biden picked Harris, the first Black woman and the first Asian American woman on a major party ticket. The misinformation campaign is built on falsehoods that have been circulating less noticeably for months, propelled by Trump supporters, and now the president himself.
“I have no idea if that’s right,” said Trump, who said he had read a column on the subject earlier Thursday. “I would have thought, I would have assumed, that the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president.”
Trump made the comments in answer to a reporter’s question and appeared to be referencing an op-ed written by John Eastman, a conservative attorney who argues that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t grant birthright citizenship. Eastman sowed doubt about Harris’ eligibility based on her parents’ immigration status. Harris’ mother was born in India and her father was born in Jamaica.
But constitutional law experts say Harris’ parents are beside the point. The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all people born in the U.S. and Article II Section 1 of the Constitution says that to be eligible for the vice presidency and presidency a candidate must be natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35, and a resident of the United States for a minimum of 14 years.
“No, there’s no question about it,” said Christopher Kelley, a political science professor at Miami University in Ohio. “It’s been recognized since the people drafted it back in the 39th Congress that (the 14th) amendment would cover people not just born to American citizens but born on American soil.”
The president’s reelection campaign’s senior lawyer, Jenna Ellis, shared the controversial Eastman column on Thursday morning, hours before Trump was asked about it at a White House news conference. Trump noted that the column was written by a “very highly qualified and very talented lawyer.”
After Trump’s remarks, Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Ahrens said the national party has no plans to challenge Harris’ eligibility for the Democratic ticket.
Eastman, the former dean of Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law, where he is a professor, is also a senior fellow at the conservative Claremont Institute. According to his bio on the institute’s website, he also served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
He also ran in the Republican primary to serve as California’s attorney general in 2010. Eastman was defeated by a candidate who went on to lose to Harris.
Newsweek, which published the controversial Eastman op-ed questioning Harris’ birthright qualification, defended the piece, arguing that Eastman “was focusing on a long-standing, somewhat arcane legal debate” about the 14th Amendment and not trying to “ignite a racist conspiracy theory around Kamala Harris’ candidacy.”
Online rumor and conjecture that Harris is ineligible to serve first surfaced when she announced her campaign for the White House in 2019. A viral post with the misleading information was revived again, days before she was announced as Biden’s running mate, as pro-Trump Facebook users spread the message in groups and on their pages.
Harris has been a top target of misinformation since launching her own bid for the White House last year. Women’s groups, which have banded together to call out sexism, racism and misinformation about Harris and other female candidates, pointed to other examples of conservative figures focusing on her race and gender in recent days.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson mispronounced Harris’ first name multiple times during a segment Tuesday night, and grew agitated when a guest corrected him, telling Carlson it was a matter of respect. Carlson responded, “So what?” and then mispronounced her name again, twice.
“That is certainly a slight,” said Amanda Harrington, vice president of Time’s Up, which works to stop workplace harassment. It’s a type of disrespect often shown to people of color in the workplace, she said, adding that on the national stage “it asserts a false narrative about who belongs in leadership today.”
Minutes after Biden announced his pick, conservative commentator Candace Owens posted a false attack on her Facebook page, claiming Harris had only started identifying as Black in the run-up to the presidential election. Until then Harris had solely described herself as Indian-American, Owens wrote, inaccurately.
Within 24 hours, nearly 200,000 users had liked the post — raking in more attention than Biden’s own Facebook post announcing his pick.
Harris has been accused of reaching her position in politics due to sexual relationships, a sexist claim pushed on social media and elsewhere — including an article in The American Spectator, a conservative online magazine, that referred to her as “the mattress.” On Wednesday, Eric Trump, the president’s son, liked a tweet that referred to her as “whorendous.”
“These are not the kinds of things Mike Pence experienced, or Tim Kaine for that matter,” Harrington said, referring to the vice president and the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee.
But Trump has questioned other rivals’ eligibility to serve in the White House. In 2016, the Republican nomination fight raised questions about whether rival Sen. Ted Cruz met “natural-born” citizen requirements. Cruz was born in Canada, but his mother was born in the United States.
Similarly, in 2008, questions arose about whether Sen. John McCain qualified as a “natural-born citizen” because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone, where his father was stationed. Questions about McCain’s qualification spurred bipartisan outrage and the Senate passed a nonbinding resolution declaring McCain, who become the GOP presidential nominee, a natural-born citizen. Obama, who beat McCain in the 2008 race for the White House, was even a co-sponsor of the McCain resolution.
