Racists Are Now Claiming Kamala Harris Isn’t Eligible to Run for President

Many Republicans have been ruffled over Joe Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency this coming November. Some have even taken great pains to twist interpretations of the U.S. Constitution in a pathetic attempt to discredit her eligibility to run for office.

Let’s backtrack on our high school civic class basics, shall we? Is Vice President Kamala Harris eligible to run for the presidency? The short answer is: absolutely. (We actually don’t even need a longer answer, it’s still just a yes.) She’s a natural-born citizen of the United States because she was born in Oakland, California. So what do those opposed to Harris think they can find in the Constitution to discredit her eligibility to run for office?

How is citizenship acquired in the U.S.?

Those who are trying to tear down Kamala Harris have cited suspended constitutional scholar John Eastman. They claim that the 12th Amendment requires a “natural-born citizen” in order to be president of the United States. Harris’s mother was a breast cancer researcher from India, and her father was an economist from Jamaica. Her parents’ backgrounds have been used by bigots to try to discredit her U.S. citizenship.

Regardless of her parents’ citizenship, Kamala Harris is a natural-born American citizen under the legal principle of jus soli, found in the 14th Amendment. Because she was born in the United States, Harris automatically acquired American citizenship at birth.

But what about her parents’ citizenship? Well, another way U.S. citizenship can be acquired is if one of the person’s parents has U.S. citizenship. This isn’t relevant to Harris because, again, she’s a U.S. citizen due to being born in California.

The post that detractors cite from Eastman ignores the facts surrounding Harris’ citizenship and their argument is clearly rooted in nothing but pure old-fashioned racism.