Saint Trump and the Church of Birtherism: When Conspiracy Becomes Religion
Dayna Wilson Dr. Noelle Phillips English 1130 - 103 13 December 2020 Saint Trump and the Church of Birtherism: When Conspiracy Becomes Religion The birtherism conspiracy theory, aiming to challenge the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy, was never a particularly novel or surprising phenomenon. Rather, its inception and subsequent circulation was the product of a culture that owes its nascence to the oppression and undermining of Black Americans. The fact that Obama was both the first Black presidential candidate and the first presidential candidate to be accused of lacking the authority to run is no coincidence. The racism inherent in the theory has been widely acknowledged and discussed, with a 2018 study demonstrating clear correlation between racist bias and belief in birtherism (Jardina and Traugott 60-80). The fervor with which proponents of the theory have sought to defend it in the face of conclusive evidence disproving its validity, however, has b