Fox News host Chris Wallace faced off against Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes on Sunday after President Donald Trump falsely suggested that presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is not qualified to be vice president. Harris was, in fact, born in California and is qualified.
August 16, 2020

Fox News host Chris Wallace faced off against Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes on Sunday after President Donald Trump falsely suggested that presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is not qualified to be vice president. Harris was, in fact, born in California and is qualified.

During an interview on Fox News Sunday, Wallace noted that Trump had questioned Harris' eligibility, much like he questioned former President Barack Obama's birthplace.

For his part, Cortes insisted that the president "had made this clear that this is not an issue that we're going to be pursuing."

"On the other hand, he didn't strike down the claim," Wallace observed. "I'm asking about that because he was once again offered the opportunity to dismiss the false claim that because her parents were immigrants, that she is not eligible to run, even though she was born in the state of California."

"Nothing could be easier than to say it's a false claim, she is eligible," the Fox News host continued. "Not just say, 'Well, I'm not going to make an issue of it.' Why not just say it's wrong? It's false?"

Cortes again insisted that Trump "made it very clear" that the campaign would not "pursue" eligibility claims against Harris.

"I'm just going to press it one more time," Wallace said. "You can accuse me of being one of those media people. Why not say it's wrong? She is eligible. It's one thing to say, 'I'm not going to pursue it.' It's a different thing to say, 'It's flat wrong, she's eligible to be the vice president.' Why doesn't he say that?"

"I don't know why it's incumbent upon him to opine on legal scholarship of the Constitution and the 14th Amendment," Cortes replied. "I don't think that's his place as president."

Wallace went on to challenged the Trump campaign's assertion that Harris is on the "far left" of the political spectrum.

"Look, I would say this about Kamala Harris," Cortes opined. "She seems to be an opportunist and to do whatever is most expedient at the moment for political power."

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