America divided over Obama birthplace
45 percent of registered Republicans believe Obama was born outside the US. 22 percent said they are unsure where he was born.
The issues surrounding Obama’s birthplace and the birther movement have reemerged with Donald Trump’s media spin and possible presidential run. An issue once seen as fringe and conspiracy driven seems to have gone mainstream and is tapping into a more fundamental part of the American psyche. What does the increase in the birther movement mean? Is it fear of an African-American governing America? Is it fear of Obama’s policies, political rhetoric and perceived socialism? It seems many Americans see the US President as Obama the foreigner.Adam Kokesh, the host of “Adam vs. The Man” on RT explained he understands mistrust in the media and in the government. “I personally believe that the President was born in the United States. Do I know that? No. Do I have certainty? No. Are two little pieces of paper going to convince me if I believe otherwise? No,” he said. “There’s a place for healthy scientism but I think this is a fringe issue although it does have a certain mainstream appeal.”Obama’s race is playing into the fear, Kokesh added. Since he is the first black president people are using other issues, like the birther issue, to mask racism. “We’re [people] able to attach evil things or bad ideas to people that we don’t like,” he explained. “We’re not in a good place as a country right now, we’re not in a good place economically and when you have that kind of crisis of confidence you seek out people to blame, places to lash that negativity on to. It’s no surprise that Obama has become a target of it.” The issue, while it appears more mainstream, is fringe because it is not driving people to the street in protest. It is a sub-issue that surfaces based on anger over other policies, like taxes and spending, argued Kokesh. Birtherism is not the most important issue to those who follow the movement.“The vast majority of that 45 percent are just people who don’t trust the mainstream media anymore for very good reasons and don’t trust Obama for very good reasons,” he added.
