CNN host Chris Cuomo said he “screwed up” when he posted a tweet that appeared to suggest Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., needs to prove she was eligible to be president.
“I screwed up … And God forbid on Twitter someone give you the benefit of the doubt,” Cuomo told “The View” on Thursday when addressing the backlash.
Cuomo clarified that in his since-deleted tweet, he was trying to get ahead of those claiming Harris was not born in the U.S. and asked for them to provide proof. He admitted that instead the tweet made it appear that he was asking for Harris to prove she was a U.S. citizen.
“You don’t get to disparage people this way because of their race, because you don’t like what they represent,” Cuomo said, referencing the birther movement surrounding former President Barack Obama’s campaign. “And what I’m saying is before we go through this again, if you have an accusation, put up or shut up. Kamala Harris shouldn’t have to go through this. That was my point. I made it poorly.”
.@ChrisCuomo explains his tweet that went viral for commenting on a conspiracy theory questioning Kamala Harris’ citizenship eligibility for president: “You don’t get to disparage people this way because of their race, because you don’t like what they represent.” pic.twitter.com/JVQC4PQOq8
— The View (@TheView) January 24, 2019
In his original tweet, Cuomo said: “And hopefully there will be no games where the issue keeps changing for righty accusers…and…the legit info abt Harris comes out to deal with the allegation ASAP. The longer there is no proof either way, the deeper the effect.”
He was responding to a tweet from CNN contributor Ana Navarro, who had expressed her dismay with a tweet from Jacob Wohl, a prominent conspiracy theorist. Wohl argued on Twitter that Harris, who was born in Oakland, Calif., was ineligible to be president because of her immigrant parents and time she spent Canada as a child.
Amid backlash, Cuomo deleted his tweet and offered an apology on Twitter later that day.
“The tweet was meant to put onus on accuser. Not Harris. That is the lesson of birtherism. Deleting original tweet to make this clear. Apologies,” Cuomo tweeted Tuesday.
I agree with all of this. The tweet was meant to put onus on accuser. Not Harris. That is the lesson of birtherism. Deleting original tweet to make this clear. Apologies. https://t.co/6vAHXNjDtr
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) January 22, 2019
Harris announced Monday, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, that she was launching a Democratic bid to run for the White House in 2020.
