# Donald Trump is now a birther **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 17, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044 "2011-03-17T17:38:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 41
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/801 "2011-04-26T19:37:08Z")
> [@Kokopilau](#): > > Oh, God, the comments… > > Why did I read the comments?! Just what I’m asking myself. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/802 "2011-04-26T21:23:18Z")
So is he giving up on the birhter issue now and heading in a new direction? Apparently, [Obama wasn’t qualified for the Ivy League](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/trump_interview). :rolleyes: What does Trump has as facts? “I heard he was a terrible student.” And apparently he’s ‘looking into it’. -I have top men looking into this. -Who exactly? -I just told you. TOP MEN!! ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/803 "2011-04-26T21:31:00Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > So is he giving up on the birhter issue now and heading in a new direction? > > Apparently, [Obama wasn’t qualified for the Ivy League](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/trump_interview). :rolleyes: > > What does Trump has as facts? > “I heard he was a terrible student.” > And apparently he’s ‘looking into it’. > > -I have top men looking into this. > -Who exactly? > -I just told you. TOP MEN!! Another gem, “We don’t know a thing about this guy [Obama].” Sgt. Schultz-ification of America continues. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/804 "2011-04-26T23:23:36Z")
I enjoyed this one: “I have friends who have smart sons with great marks, great boards, great everything and they can’t get into Harvard” I haven’t heard this much racial dog whistling in a long, long time. I wonder how his support with “the blacks” is gonna be when this is all over. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/805 "2011-04-26T23:25:23Z")
Oh, and this speaks well of his ability to be impartial after taking campaign donations: “I would find it hard to believe he [McCain] would say anything bad because I raised a fantastic amount of money for him” ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/806 "2011-04-26T23:33:19Z")
_“I have more people that are excited about the fact that I reinvigorated this whole issue,” Trump said, adding “the last guy (Obama) wants to run against is Donald Trump.”_ Ya know, I don’t think that’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/807 "2011-04-27T00:22:45Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I enjoyed this one: “I have friends who have smart sons with great marks, great boards, great everything and they can’t get into Harvard” > > I haven’t heard this much racial dog whistling in a long, long time. I wonder how his support with “the blacks” is gonna be when this is all over. Probably on one or two points off of the four or five percent he would have pulled to begin with. I think Trump’s main point, though racial preference plays an unavoidable role in arriving at it, is that Obama’s grades did not justify his acceptance into Harvard; i.e., he’s not the brilliant scholar his supporters would have you believe he is, and his Harvard credentials are owing mainly to the fact that he’s black rather than that his academic performance was up to what are generally regarded as Harvard’s otherwise high standards. I have a standard of my own when it comes to defining racism, and that is whether or not the statement made is based in fact. If something is true, it’s true, regardless of where that fact falls on the political scale. Allegations that black people are intellectually inferior are not true. There is no factual basis for that; thus the notion can only be attributable to racism. The fact that Obama either may have or did get into Harvard based on some form of affirmative action does not make criticism of his grades off limits, nor is it racism to suggest therefore that his Harvard credentials may not be as shiny as Harvard credentials normally are. In other words, if Obama’s supporters are going to laud his Harvard credentials as evidence of his intellectual capability, it’s perfectly legitimate to mention that his grades in getting there were not up to par and that he was admitted to Harvard for reasons of politics rather than intellectual performance. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/808 "2011-04-27T00:36:12Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > In other words, if Obama’s supporters are going to laud his Harvard credentials as evidence of his intellectual capability, it’s perfectly legitimate to mention that his grades in getting there were not up to par and that he was admitted to Harvard for reasons of politics rather than intellectual performance. Cite, or shut the fuck up with your asinine opinions. ETA: Or are you one of Trump’s TOP MEN who are working on finding proof? ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/809 "2011-04-27T00:42:34Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > it’s perfectly legitimate to mention that his grades in getting there were not up to par and that he was admitted to Harvard for reasons of politics rather than intellectual performance. Cite? Or is this one of those made-up, “we can’t be sure one way or the other” non-facts that you’ll nonetheless use to argue a point? Also, it seems relevant to mention that Obama graduated [magna cum laude](http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/may/09/barackobama.uselections20081) from Harvard Law. Seems like that’s not an accomplishment we’d see from a “terrible” student - but I’m sure some will see that as further evidence of Obama deriving benefit from affirmative action. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/810 "2011-04-27T00:45:39Z")
[Donald, You're Fired! - FactCheck.org](http://factcheck.org/2011/04/donald-youre-fired/) Here is yet another refutation of everything Trump is trumping up. There is no way for him to get the nomination without appealing to the birther nuts. The fact that they are utterly wrong in every aspect does not matter. he needs them. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/811 "2011-04-27T00:48:02Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Probably on one or two points off of the four or five percent he would have pulled to begin with. > > I think Trump’s main point, though racial preference plays an unavoidable role in arriving at it, is that Obama’s grades did not justify his acceptance into Harvard; i.e., he’s not the brilliant scholar his supporters would have you believe he is, and his Harvard credentials are owing mainly to the fact that he’s black rather than that his academic performance was up to what are generally regarded as Harvard’s otherwise high standards. > > I have a standard of my own when it comes to defining racism, and that is whether or not the statement made is based in fact. If something is true, it’s true, regardless of where that fact falls on the political scale. Allegations that black people are intellectually inferior are not true. There is no factual basis for that; thus the notion can only be attributable to racism. The fact that Obama either may have or did get into Harvard based on some form of affirmative action does not make criticism of his grades off limits, nor is it racism to suggest therefore that his Harvard credentials may not be as shiny as Harvard credentials normally are. > > In other words, if Obama’s supporters are going to laud his Harvard credentials as evidence of his intellectual capability, it’s perfectly legitimate to mention that his grades in getting there were not up to par and that he was admitted to Harvard for reasons of politics rather than intellectual performance. Is there a cite available for his grades? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/812 "2011-04-27T00:51:42Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > _“I have more people that are excited about the fact that I reinvigorated this whole issue,” Trump said, adding “the last guy (Obama) wants to run against is Donald Trump.”_ > > Ya know, I don’t think that’s true. No, it is true. He runs against the Donald. He whups the crap out of him. He serves his second term. He has nothing left to run for, hence no one to run against, and Donald Trump is the last person he runs against. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/813 "2011-04-27T00:55:46Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Probably on one or two points off of the four or five percent he would have pulled to begin with. > > I think Trump’s main point, though racial preference plays an unavoidable role in arriving at it, is that Obama’s grades did not justify his acceptance into Harvard How do you know what his grades were at Columbia? Cite? Also, how did they know he was black? He left the “race” question blank on his Harvard application. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/814 "2011-04-27T00:59:26Z")
When Donald played that lameass bullshit with Randall a few years ago on Apprentice (and I know some of yall know what I’m talking about), I first began to suspect he wasn’t a friend of “the blacks”. But this birther mess and now the insinuation that Obama was somehow not smart enough to get into Harvard even though he graduated magna cum laude from–get this–_Harvard_–makes it hard for me not to see this clown as being a plain-as-day racist. He couldn’t be more obvious if was holding a cross-lit vigil in front of the White House with a white hood on his head. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/815 "2011-04-27T00:59:30Z")
Incidentally, don’t you have to be close to the top of your class to be eligable to be editor of the Harvard Law Review? It’s not something you can get with a C average. Aside from all that, it’s also blindingly obvious that the guy is smart. All you have to do is listen to him talk for 5 minutes, or read his books (which he wrote himself, unlike most politicos). I’d like to see Obama and Trump both take IQ tests. I bet Obama beats Trump by 30 points. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/816 "2011-04-27T01:11:05Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I’d like to see Obama and Trump both take IQ tests. I bet Obama beats Trump by 30 points. I wouldn’t [like to see that]. Trump is a fucking troll who should stop receiving regular feedings. The presidency hasn’t had a decent shot at dignity since Nixon, until President Obama. Pandering to this asshole’s asshole followers can only hurt the President’s chances at turning that around. ---
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/817 "2011-04-27T02:44:14Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Incidentally, don’t you have to be close to the top of your class to be eligable to be editor of the Harvard Law Review? It’s not something you can get with a C average. > > Aside from all that, it’s also blindingly obvious that the guy is smart. All you have to do is listen to him talk for 5 minutes, or read his books (which he wrote himself, unlike most politicos). > > I’d like to see Obama and Trump both take IQ tests. I bet Obama beats Trump by 30 points. Membership to the Harvard Law Review is based on an annual writing competition, not grades. but of course you knew that. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/818 "2011-04-27T02:52:01Z")
So, more or less average students are commonly honored this way? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/819 "2011-04-27T02:59:46Z")
> [@Klaatu](#): > > Membership to the Harvard Law Review is based on an annual writing competition, not grades. but of course you knew that. I knew about the writing competition (which is done anonymously, by the way. The voters don’t know who wrote what. They vote entirely on the strength of the piece itself), but I thought I read something somewhere that those who entered had to be in the top 10% of the class or something. Maybe I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044/820 "2011-04-27T03:00:58Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > So, more or less average students are commonly honored this way? [Not usually, but exceptions are made for students from wealthy, politically well-connected families](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-is-now-a-birther/575044.md?page=42)