The 2008 presidential election was rocked by a "birtherism" controversy after supporters of Secretary Hillary Clinton's (D) presidential campaign questioned if President Barack Obama (D) was an American citizen. As Vice President Kamala Harris (D) readies herself to accept the nomination in August, some on both sides of the aisle are questioning her qualifications. In an exclusive interview with Texas Politics, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions (R) appeared to question Vice President Harris' citizenship when asked if she was qualified for the position.
When asked about the qualifications of being president, Rep. Sessions made a distinction between two different categories of qualifications. One category is being qualified in the eyes of the American people, and the other is the qualifications that make one eligible to run for the role.
"When it comes down to 'are you qualified by the American people' with your answers, with your response, with how you would handle the American peoples' business," Rep. Sessions believes that Vice President Harris is not qualified. "I think she is a clone of Joe Biden... and she talks about the thing she knows most, that is about abortion... I think there's far, far more to serve as president, or vice president than being concerned about abortion as a policy."
When it comes to the qualifications to run for president, the Texas lawmaker explained that qualification entails her being "an American citizen - presumptively - that she would be an American citizen, that she is registered and is of age. Those are the qualifications of an American."
He went on to posit that "the Democratic Party is more interested in trying to make sure that men are in women's locker rooms than they are concerned about America's future, than they are concerned about the border, rule of law, inflation, and this is where we have a mismatch of the importance value."
"I think the Democratic Party and Kamala Harris are like Joe Biden, they're out of touch."
