Roger Baumann, a Redwood County GOP and anti-refugee activist, thinks Joe Biden's choice of a running mate is a plot to make House Speaker Nancy Pelosi president.
Oh yeah. But he's not the first person to imagine Harris, a California senator, isn't eligible to be president.
Just over a year ago, CNN reported in How Kamala Harris conspiracies festered online before making it to Trump Jr.:
Attempts to undermine Sen. Kamala Harris' racial identity had been festering on conspiratorial corners of the internet for months before being elevated to the mainstream by Donald Trump Jr. during last week's debate, an expert that tracks online misinformation tells CNN.
In addition to efforts to undermine Harris' identity as a black woman, a false claim that Harris is not eligible to run for president because both of her parents are foreign-born has also been circulating. The claim has echoes of the false birther conspiracy that was spread about President Barack Obama -- and some of the same people involved in spreading that conspiracy are involved in circulating the false claims about Harris. . . .
Birther conspiracy theorists have also circulated material challenging Harris' eligibility to run for president. Harris, who was born in Oakland, California, is eligible to run for president.
"The adversarial attack on Harris' eligibility highlights how political disinformation operators recycle narratives that have had success in the past with hyper-partisan communities," Decker explained, adding that some of the main architects of the birther conspiracy against Obama are utilizing social media to spread similar falsehoods about Harris.
Republican state convention delegate and Redwood County anti-refugee activist Roger Bauman is still a true believer in that debunked conspiracy theory. On his Facebook page yesterday, Baumann shared an Alpha News post asking what readers thought about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's vice-presidential pick:
One of Baumann's Facebook friends raised conspiracy and the exchange in the screengrab at the top of this post ensued:
Ned Uhm And because she wasn't born in America, if biden really does go absentia, the pesidency goes to speaker of the house.
Roger Baumann It's been part of the plan from the beginning.Ned Uhm Roger Baumann yepShirley Appel Heaven help us.
Mary Gayle Bratsch Why she got that face lift huh?
The Mary Gayle Bratsch "facelift" comment is about Pelosi. See Nancy Pelosi's Eyebrows Get More Criticism Than Her Politics for more on that. (Bratsch served as treasurer for Tammy Houle's wildly unsuccessful House 16B primary bid to defeat Hanska Republican Paul Torkelson).
Earlier this year, Bratsch joined Baumann in objecting to refugee resettlement, the Redwood Falls Gazette reported in Redwood County board hears from public about refugee resettlement opt-in vote.
As our late father would likely have said, a pair to draw to.
For more on anti-Harris conspiracies from 2019, check out Business Insider's Donald Trump Jr. shared a racist tweet about Kamala Harris and then deleted it after it went viral, fanning the flames of a new 'birther' conspiracy.
Related posts:
- Minnesota’s right wing keyboard warriors lapping up COVID-19 conspiracy theories (Minnesota Reformer)
- After tense Cloquet event, Ron Branstner bringing anti-refugee spiel to Redwood Falls 2/13
Screengrab: Conspiracy commentary in Redwood County.
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