Axios reports:
Several Democratic presidential candidates defended fellow 2020 contender Sen. Kamala Harris on Saturday against false online accusations about her race and U.S. citizenship — with many calling the attacks racist.
A social media researcher, cited in the NYT and Buzzfeed, aggregated at least 12 tweets questioning Harris’ race during the first Democratic primary debate, saying “it has all the signs of being a coordinated/artificial operation.”
Gary Wilmont, a self-described “birther” conspiracy theorist, made accusations about Harris’ race in 2017 — sentiments shared by the Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website. Donald Trump Jr. shared a tweet written by an “alt-right fringe figure” Friday that falsely claimed Harris “was not black enough to be discussing the plight of black Americans.”
The same forces of hatred rooted in ‘birtherism’ that questioned @BarackObama‘s American citizenship, and even his racial identity, are now being used against Senator @KamalaHarris. It’s disgusting and we have to call it out when we see it. Racism has no place in America.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 29, 2019
The attacks against @KamalaHarris are racist and ugly. We all have an obligation to speak out and say so. And it’s within the power and obligation of tech companies to stop these vile lies dead in their tracks.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) June 29, 2019
Donald Trump Jr. is a racist too. Shocker. https://t.co/cy0N6fUseX
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 29, 2019
.@KamalaHarris doesn’t have shit to prove. https://t.co/OQm8wVub7W
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) June 29, 2019
The presidential competitive field is stronger because Kamala Harris has been powerfully voicing her Black American experience. Her first-generation story embodies the American dream. It’s long past time to end these racist, birther-style attacks. https://t.co/x5Wdx8DKr8
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) June 29, 2019
These troll-fueled racist attacks on Senator @KamalaHarris are unacceptable. We are better than this (Russia is not) and stand united against this type of vile behavior.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) June 29, 2019
There’s a long history of black Americans being told they don’t belong—and millions are kept down and shut out to this day. @KamalaHarris is an American. Period. And all of us must call out attempts to question her identity for what they are: racist. https://t.co/g3n7lmoU2h
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) June 29, 2019