Birtherism: A Political Strategy
By Sarah Forthuber & Will Jacobe
In 2007, in the midst of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s battle over the Democratic presidential nomination, a conspiracy theory was born. Clinton supporters, wanting to shatter Obama’s political aspirations, began rumours that he was a radical Muslim from Kenya, and they warned that if Obama became president, he would ruin the country (Smith, 2007). While these claims seemed wildly outlandish, they did fit the description of a conspiracy theory coined by Cass Sunstein and Vermeule (2009): “An effort to explain some event or practice by reference to the plots of powerful people who attempt to conceal their role.” The original emails sent between Clinton supporters and volunteers framed Obama as a radical Muslim, trying to win the presidency to “destroy the U.S. from the inside out.” It fits nearly perfectly to their definition: a powerful person (Obama) attempts to conceal his identity (a radical Muslim from Kenya) to do harm (destroy the U.S.). This was a clear example of new conspiracism. It was a conspiracy that was not based on facts or designed to explain a particular phenomenon. Through the use of often baseless promotions of claims on social media and news outlets along with an emphasis on cultural and racial identities, indirectly underscoring their assumed correlations, the new conspiracy theory became a symbolism of whiteness in the U.S. and a vehicle to delegitimize a political opponent.
Transition From Fringe to Front Runner
Unfortunately, the conspiracy emails circulating among Clinton supporters and volunteers got leaked to the media (Smith, 2007). Once articles came out about the claims, conspiracy thinkers took to social media platforms spreading the new theory; some individuals even forged Kenyan birth certificates for Obama (Mikkelson, 2009). The forgeries were quickly deemed illegitimate, but the theories surrounding Obama’s birth continued to circulate.
While the conspiracy theory first started as a political weapon for Clinton supporters, it quickly became a tool for the right to delegitimize Obama’s presidency and the Democratic Party. Beginning in 2009, right wing figures and Republican leaders were emphasising and detaching Obama’s “Africanism” over his “Americanism.” Many of these individuals would claim Obama’s efforts in office reflected “anti-colonial” behaviour and ideals as well as anti-British sentiments (Serwer, 2020). By beginning to question Obama’s Americanism, these right-wing figures were attempting to delegitimize the president’s birth certificate, and thus his power and right to presidency, which would overall delegitimize the power of the Democratic Party.
The theory only began gaining serious traction in 2011 through Trump and his access to multiple media platforms including “the View,” “the Today Show” and “Fox News.” Trump’s access to wide audiences on these platforms and through his social media accounts allowed him to quickly spread this “birtherism” conspiracy theory. Whenever Trump had an opportunity, he would question the president’s birthplace. For example, on March 23rd, 2011, on an episode of “The View” Trump stated, “I want [Obama] to show his birth certificate. There is something on that birth certificate that he doesn’t like.” Trump continued making similar outlandish claims publicly until Obama finally released his long-form birth certificate on April 27th, 2011.
Post Publication of Birth Certificate: Not the End
One would think that Obama’s birth certificate would be enough to silence all conspiracy theories regarding his birthplace, but as documented in the study, When Prophecy Fails, conspiracy thinkers are reluctant to let go of their beliefs (Festinger, 1956). Many rejected Obama’s birth certificate, claiming that it was a forgery. Even Trump questioned the birth certificate: “I am very honoured to have gotten him to release his long form birth certificate or whatever it may be” (Reuters, 2012). Trump also posted a tweet on August 6, 2012 stating, “An ‘extremely credible source’ has called my office and told me that @BarackObama’s birth certificate is a fraud” (Krieg, 2016). Trump and many others could not admit they were wrong. Instead, they continued questioning Obama’s legitimacy and turned their attention to other pieces of evidence to push their narrative.
In October of 2012, trying to keep the conspiracy theory alive, Trump publicly offered to donate 5 million dollars to the charity of Obama’s choice if he agreed to release his college and passport records. Trump also continued to question the validity of Obama’s birth certificate. He tweeted on December 12th, 2013 about the suspicious death of the State Health Director who verified Obama’s birth certificate.
A New Use for the Same Conspiracy Theory
As time continued, Trump’s claims became more desperate, but by 2015 (near the end of Obama’s second term) it became clear that this conspiracy theory no longer had any use for Trump. Instead of admitting he was wrong, Trump used it to place blame on Hillary Clinton. Trump took to twitter again, blaming the start of the “birther movement” on her, and in a speech he proclaimed, “Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy… I finished it.” Fact checkers soon dismissed Trump’s claim as the original conspiracy theory had obviously begun with Hillary’s supporters not the presidential candidate herself, but Trump was about to run against her and wanted to place the blame on her. Before the election in 2016, Trump publicly stated that President Obama was born in America. However, after five years of spreading the theory, much of the damage had already been done; many conspiracy thinkers continue to question the birthplace of our 44th president.
Jump forward four years to 2020, and Trump is still using birther theories as a political weapon. After Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate, Trump questioned her legitimacy as a vice president candidate: “I heard it today that she doesn’t meet the requirements” (Steakin, 2020).
From the beginning of his political career, Trump successfully used birtherism and other conspiracy theories to fire up his base. Through social media and televised media appearances, Trump was able to spread his ideas far and wide. While it made enemies out of many, it also captivated countless supporters.
References
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