Raddatz Grills Pence: Why Did Trump Keep Birtherism Going for So Long?

Martha Raddatz confronted Mike Pence this morning over why it took Donald Trump “so long” to disavow birtherism after perpetuating it for five straight years.

Pence emphasized over and over that this is just “the past” and he and Trump are focused on the future, saying, “He brought that issue to an end this week.”

Raddatz pointed out that “Trump could have put this issue to bed a long time ago,” but didn’t. Pence tried to dismiss it again, but Raddatz said that in the years after President Obama released his birth certificate, there were “67 times where Donald Trump tweeted or retweeted messages questioning his birthplace.”

.@mike_pence on Trump's birtherism: "Our campaign just really isn't focused on the past." https://t.co/U9K27wcz8i https://t.co/cju6FRM1eN

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 18, 2016

Pence pointed to the Hillary Clinton campaign, but Raddatz pressed him for evidence that the Clinton campaign itself directly pushed this issue.

Pence said, “I understand your perspective on it. I understand the desire of many in the media to change the subject… We’re just not gonna play that game.”

Watch the full clip above, via ABC.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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