Read on Twitter
1. Obviously a constitutional amendment opening up the presidency to all citizens would be a good idea, but that's not going to end Birtherism. Birtherism isn't about the constitution, it's about racial control, with the constitution as a pretext. https://twitter.com/micahuetricht/status/1294071997077557250
2. The best way to understand birtherism is through framework of @jelani9's idea of "contingent citizenship." For racists like Trump there are two classes of citizens: whites (whose Americanness is assumed as natural) & non-whites (who are provisional Americans).
3. Contingent citizenship means all non-whites -- no matter their status or how many centuries their families have been in America -- are on probation. And all whites are deputized to be racial sheriffs, with the right to ask for papers & deport for acting up.
4. Trump's birtherism can be seen not just in comment on Obama & Harris but also questioning bias of Judge Curiel b/c of Mexican heritage & telling Squad members to "go back" to where they came from.
5. The attack on the squad shows the underlying logic. Ayanna Pressley's family likely has roots in USA that are centuries older than Trump family. But she's black & he's white, so he has right to treat her as an alien. Only whites have the right to be nativists.
6. More thoughts here on how white supremacy underwrites birtherism. https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/birtherism-trump-racist-kamala/
