Don Lemon Rips Trump For ‘Dirty Racist Tactic’ on Kamala Harris Birtherism Comment: ‘No Other Words Than Disgusting’
CNN’s Don Lemon ripped President Donald Trump for appearing to give credence to racist conspiracies around Kamala Harris not being ineligible as Joe Biden’s running mate a “very serious claim.”
Lemon referred to the president’s comments as another “dirty racist tactic” and said he’s “planting this ugly question in people’s minds.”
“Every single day, another lie, another conspiracy theory, another racist dog whistle,” Lemon said, ripping the president as he began his primetime show. “Every day. It’s like the Groundhog’s Day for alternative realities. It is clear that this president will stop at nothing to win re-election, using everything at his disposal to achieve his goal.”
“Can you believe it? Is it 2011 all over again?” Lemon asked. “What is going on? Birtherism now against Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s vice presidential nominee who is a Black woman. Does that ring a bell to you? At his briefing he was asked about a completely, completely, discredited op-ed in Newsweek questioning Harris’ eligibility to be Joe Biden’s running mate and questioning where she was born. Not surprisingly, it was retweeted by a lawyer for the Trump campaign.”
The column Lemon referred, written by Claremont Institute’s John Eastman, sparked immediate backlash for baselessly claiming Harris is ineligible to be VP based on Eastman’s personal interpretation of the 14th Amendment. Harris was born in Oakland, California, and is eligible to be president as a natural-born United States citizen. Newsweek subsequently added an editor’s note claiming the column had “nothing to do with racist birtherism,”
On Thursday, responding to a question asking his thoughts on the column, Trump said, “I heard it today that she doesn’t meet the requirements. By the way, the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, highly talented lawyer. I have no idea if that’s right, I would’ve assumed the Democrats would’ve checked that out before she gets chosen to run for Vice President. That’s very serious, they’re saying she doesn’t qualify because she wasn’t born in this country?”
“This man is so full of it, y’all,” Lemon said on CNN. “Come on. He knows better than that. He’s President of the United States. Shouldn’t he have a modicum of decency and class to just say, ‘Look, come on, let’s talk about something real. Lot of people have died from the coronavirus. That’s serious. Kamala Harris is on the vice presidential ticket. Move along.'”
“Should I give it life or do I just ignore it because it’s so ridiculous?” Lemon asked. “That’s exactly what they want is to elevate it so people are talking about it and, therefore, it becomes real. If you say it enough then it taints and it stains someone in a way that the shouldn’t be stained or tainted … A white man questioning a Black woman’s birthplace in America in 2020. No other words but disgusting and racist.”
Trump infamously pushed a racist Birther conspiracy theory about Barack Obama for years before he became president.
“Here’s why it’s even more disturbing,” Lemon said. “Same dirty racist tactic he used to try to derail Barack Obama.”
Watch above, via CNN.
