Bernie Sanders Shreds Donald Trump For Reviving Debunked Obama Birtherism

Bernie Sanders called Donald Trump and his birtherism a disgrace during an interview on CBS This Morning. Sanders strongly condemned the birther mythology and ugliness surrounding President Obama.

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CBS This Morning released a clip of Sen. Sanders discussing during a commercial break Trump’s encouragement of lies about Obama.

Sen. Sanders said, “I think it’s a disgrace. To again question whether or not the President Of The United States was born in this country. Whether he’s a Christian. I thought we were beyond that. It’s an outrage.”

CBS’s Norah O’Donnell compared Trump’s statement to how Sen. John McCain handled a similar question during the 2008 campaign.

Sanders added, “To continue this mythology and the ugliness that suggests that the President Of The United States and we all remember Trump was one of the leaders of this effort a year ago. I thought maybe he had learned something from that. This is not what American politics should be about. Let’s debate real issues.”

Charlie Rose brought up the media’s favorite false equivalency by claiming that Trump and Sanders are pulling supporters from the same mood that there is something wrong in this country.

The Democratic presidential candidate shot that down, “Well, something is dramatically wrong when the rich get richer, and everybody else gets poorer, but that has nothing to do with whether or not President Obama was born in America, or whether he’s a Christian.”

Trump’s refusal correct a supporter who believes that President Obama is a foreign-born Muslim is not surprising because Trump himself has continued to hang on to his birther beliefs. In an interview with NBC News in July, Trump was questioned about his birther beliefs and refused to admit that President Obama was born in the United States.

Trump can’t be honest about President Obama because polling has revealed that a majority of his supporters believe that the President is a Muslim. If Donald Trump told the truth about President Obama, he would lose votes in the Republican primary.

Sen. Sanders nailed it. Trump is a disgrace, but what is even more outrageous is the fact that so many Republicans continue to believe in debunked birther nonsense. Bernie Sanders was correct. America has real issues that need to be discussed. Every second that is wasted on Trump and the birthers is another moment where our real problems are ignored.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association