Kamala Harris' eligibility issue a 'non-starter', says Trump campaign adviser

US President Donald Trump's re-election campaign officials backed away from pursuing the baseless theory over Kamala Harris eligibility to run for vice president. During a White House news conference, Trump had referred to an opinion article in Newsweek, written by conservative law professor John Eastman, to stoke false claims that he long promoted for his predecessor Barack Obama. 

"I heard it today that she doesn't meet the requirements," said Trump, calling Eastman “very highly qualified, very talented lawyer”. 

The US President drew a barrage of criticism for his remarks as Biden campaign accused Trump of resorting to “abhorrent” lies to distract American people from the “horrific toll of his failed coronavirus response”. House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that questioning the citizenship of people of colour is one way that white supremacy manifests.

In a series of tweets, Ocasio-Cortez said that white US officials born abroad almost never face similar questions about their birth and citizenship. She said that the belief system of white supremacy is based on the idea that people of colour are “fundamentally illegitimate” as equal citizens or human beings.

Read: Donald Trump Stokes False Claims Over Kamala Harris' Eligibility For US Office

Read: Joe Biden Slams Trump For His 'abhorrent Lies' On Kamala Harris' Eligibility

Trump campaign backs away 

Eventually, Newsweek apologised for running the piece and said that the op-ed was “being used by some as a tool to perpetuate racism and xenophobia.” The severe backlash saw Trump back away from his earlier stance and said that he was going to purse the theory given by a “brilliant lawyer”.

“I have nothing to do with that. I read something about it...I don’t know about it. I read one quick article,” Trump told a news conference at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. 

Trump re-election campaign adviser Steve Cortes later elaborated on it, saying the issue is a non-starter for the president and for the campaign. He told Fox News the US President is saying that “we have not made an issue of this and we will not make and issue of this.” Another adviser Jason Miller said on ABC’s “This Week” that “it is case closed, end of story.”

Read: AOC Denounces Trump's 'birther' Theory As Way Of Protecting 'white Supremacist Vision'

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