Guest Editorial…Putting birther controversy to rest

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Breaking News: Donald Trump admits President Barack Obama was born in the United States.
Of course most Americans should already know this already since it’s actually required for Obama to be president.
But after five years as the chief promoter of the false claim Obama wasn’t born in the United States, Trump admitted on Friday that the president was born in the United States as required by the U.S. Constitution.
“President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period,” Trump said in a brief statement read at the end of a campaign appearance. “Now we all want to get back to making America strong and great again.”
Trump sought to blame rival Hillary Clinton for initially starting the controversy.
“Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy,” Trump said. “I finished it.”
The New York Times reported during the 2008 Democratic presidential contest, “a senior strategist for Mrs. Clinton at one point pondered in an internal memo that was later leaked, the ways in which Mr. Obama’s personal background differed from many Americans. But contrary to Mr. Trump’s assertion, neither Mrs. Clinton nor her campaign ever publicly questioned Mr. Obama’s citizenship or birthplace in Hawaii.”
If Trump thought he was finally putting the issue to rest he was badly mistaken.
On Friday, the Congressional Black Caucus called a press conference and members expressed their outrage over the issue, one by one.
The CBC called Trump a “disgusting fraud” and demanded he apologize to the president for repeatedly challenging the first African-American president’s U.S. citizenship before retreating from the claim on Friday.
Obama has responded to the controversy mostly with dismissive humor or by simply stating the facts of his birth.
Trump stoked the controversy to appeal to those with a deep irrational hatred or distrust of the president. Trump made no apology Friday and took no questions on the five-year long smear of the nation’s first African American president.
To believe he was going to put the controversy to rest with a brief statement during an increasing close presidential election reflects Trump’s inflated view of himself.
Trump believes he is in charge. The controversy won’t end simply because he wants it to now go away.
As the Associated Press reported: “The African-American members of Congress sought to use the turn of events to energize not only minority voters but moderates and independents who might be offended by Trump’s repeated questioning of Obama’s citizenship.”
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, (D-Texas), said their Washington news conference was a calling to African-Americans — “this man cannot be elected.”
We agree.
https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/putting-birther-controversy-to-rest/article_4064f92f-1e02-5dd8-b020-4fffe92e05e8.html

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