From: januarybaybee@gmail.com   
      
       
   Newsweek apologises for op-ed on Kamala Harris' citizenship   
      
      
   Magazine says it failed to anticipate how the op-ed about the US vice   
   presidential candidate could be 'weaponised'.   
      
   The United States-based news magazine, Newsweek, has apologised for an op-ed   
   that questioned Senator Kamala Harris' citizenship and her eligibility to be   
   Joe Biden's running mate, a false and racist conspiracy theory which President   
   Donald Trump has not    
   dismissed.   
      
   "This op-ed is being used by some as a tool to perpetuate racism and   
   xenophobia. We apologize," read Newsweek editor's note on Friday, which   
   replaced the magazine's earlier detailed defence of the op-ed.   
      
   "We entirely failed to anticipate the ways in which the essay would be   
   interpreted, distorted and weaponized," read the apology, signed by Josh   
   Hammer, opinion editor, and Nancy Cooper, global editor in chief.   
      
   But they ended the note by saying that the op-ed would remain on the site,   
   with their note attached.   
      
   The op-ed was written by John Eastman, a conservative attorney who argues the   
   US Constitution does not grant birthright citizenship.   
      
   Eastman sowed doubt about Harris' eligibility based on her parents'   
   immigration status. Harris' mother was born in India and her father in Jamaica.   
      
   Harris, 55, is the first Black woman and woman of South Asian heritage to be   
   granted the honour of a place on the ticket of a major US party.   
      
   Newsweek had earlier defended the op-ed piece, arguing that Eastman "was   
   focusing on a long-standing, somewhat arcane legal debate" about the 14th   
   Amendment and not trying to "ignite a racist conspiracy theory around Kamala   
   Harris' candidacy".   
      
   But the theory is false. Harris, who was tapped by Joe Biden to serve as his   
   running mate on the Democratic ticket, was born in Oakland, California, and is   
   eligible for both the vice presidency and presidency under the constitutional   
   requirements.   
      
   The question is not even considered complex, according to constitution lawyers.   
      
   Trump's political career has seen him questioning an opponent's legitimacy. He   
   was a high-profile force behind the "birther movement" - the lie that   
   questioned whether President Barack Obama, the nation's first Black president,   
   was eligible to serve.   
      
   Obama was born in Hawaii to a Kenyan father and a white American mother. Only   
   after mounting pressure during his 2016 campaign did Trump disavow his claims.   
      
   Asked about the matter at the White House on Thursday, Trump told reporters he   
   had "heard" rumours that Harris does not meet the requirement to serve in the   
   White House.   
      
   "I heard it today that she doesn't meet the requirements," he said. "I have no   
   idea if that's right."   
                                                               =============   
      
   You 'have no idea' about a whole lot of things, Mr Trump.  That's what happens   
   when you skip classes and then pay someone else to take your SATs.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)