Despite the fact that Barack Obama has an extensively documented past, and despite the fact that he revealed his birth certificate in a widely covered press conference, it seems that the birthers have turned Obama's origins into an open question for a large chunk of the public. Here's the latest survey from YouGov:
Only 55 percent of Americans believe, for certain, that Obama was born in the United States. That's an astoundingly low number, and a sign that doubts about his citizenship will persist for the length of his time in office, and beyond. As I'm sure you can imagine, the numbers are far worse for Republicans:
The belief that Barack Obama is an American citizen is a minority position in the Republican Party. My guess is that this has little to do with actual thought, and everything to do with tribal identification-rejecting Obama as a citizen is another way of rejecting his legitimacy as president. Even still, it's deeply worrisome that so many citizens are willing to accept the ludicrous notion that Obama is secretly a foreigner.
A second Trump administration will cement a right-wing majority on the Supreme Court for a generation, and put our collective future in the hands of someone who will be virtually unchecked by our institutions. The country has shifted rightward, and the reverberations will ensue for potentially the next few decades. In this climate, a robust independent media ecosystem will be more important than ever. We're committed to bringing you the latest news on how Trump's agenda will actually affect the American people, shining a light on the stories corporate media overlooks and keeping the public informed about how power really works in this country.
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