As the presidential campaigning in the United States has entered in its final leg, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris, on Saturday, flayed President Donald Trump for refusing to condemn white supremacism.
“On the one hand you have Joe Biden, who has the courage and the commitment and the knowledge of America’s history to speak the term ‘Black Lives Matter.’ On the other hand you have a Donald Trump, who will never speak those words,” Harris said, while addressing at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, PTI reported.
She railed against the President for staying on “that debate stage and refused to condemn white supremacists and then doubled down and said, ‘Well, stand back and stand by.'”
And then people say, ‘Well, you know do you think he’s a racist?'” Harris said.
The audience laughed at the question, prompting Harris to say, “Yes.”
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“Because you see, we are not just looking at one-off comments, we’re looking at a pattern. This is the same dude who challenged the legitimacy of the first black president of the United States,” the California Senator said.
Harris appears to be addressing to former president Barack Obama and the Birther Movement associated with him, in which Trump too played a role.
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The Birther Movement is a conspiracy theory according to which Obama was born abroad and thus, was ineligible to be the president. Trump had, too, questioned his predecessor’s birthplace.
Trump on white supremacism
At the first presidential debate, late last month, between Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, the moderator Chris Wallace repeatedly asked Trump to condemn violence by white supremacists and rightwing groups.
Instead, Trump addressed the Proud Boys, an ultra-right wing group, and said, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by! But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.”
The Republican President enjoys a widespread support from right-wing groups.
The US presidential election is scheduled for November 3, in which Trump is seeking re-election.