Donald Trump’s running mate may have just stabbed the Republican presidential candidate in the back on one of his signature issues. Or was vice presidential nominee Mike Pence only trying to soften Trump’s image?
The heresy? Pence told reporters Wednesday:
“I believe Barack Obama was born in Hawaii.”
Before he ran for president, Trump’s bogus suggestions that President Obama was hiding something by not releasing his long-form birth certificate became a signature issue for him. Even after the long-firm birth certificate was released, Trump refused to acknowledge that Obama was, in fact, American born.
Now, as Trump goes through the motions of reaching out to African Americans, his birtherism has come back into the news. It has been cited as one factor in his historically low support from black Americans.
As recently as Tuesday night, Trump turned down an opportunity to recant his smarmy smear-mongering. When Trump milkshake BFF, Bill O’Reilly, asked if Trump’s “birther position” had hurt him with African Americans, Trump replied:
“I don’t know. I have no idea. I don’t even talk about it anymore, Bill, because I just don’t bother talking about it.”
But others in the Donald Trump campaign are talking about it. Earlier that same day, Trump surrogate Dr. Ben Carson told CNN’s Jake Tapper that it would be “a good idea, absolutely” for Trump to admit he was wrong and apologize.
And now Trump’s own running mate has broken with him on the issue.
But, like Trump, Pence would not acknowledge his running mate’s insult to African Americans. When asked if he thinks Trump should apologize for birtherism, Pence balked:
“I think Donald Trump’s record both as a businessman and as a political leader and a patron in supporting minority efforts, and particularly supporting the advancement of the African-American community, really speaks for itself,” he said.
Watch Trump fail to disavow his birtherism below, from the September 6, 2016 The O’Reilly Factor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H2IIiOy6Js
Featured image from YouTube video.
