birtherism

American

[burth-er-iz-uhm] / ˈbɜrθ ərˌɪz əm /

noun

a claim or belief that Barack Obama, or occasionally another US president or presidential candidate, was born overseas and thus is not eligible for the office; the beliefs of birthers.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In Kansas, Kobach is infamous not only for his birtherism but also for his voter suppression efforts.

From Salon

Arguably, the "birtherism" conspiracy theory directed against Barack Obama was a way of calling him and his followers the N-word.

From Salon

“He was friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton and made contributions to Democrats, but he saw an opening with a racist conspiracy theory called ‘birtherism’ and targeted a party that was more vulnerable than expected.”

From Reuters

The racist birtherism conspiracy about Obama, touted by then-reality show star Trump and echoed by Fox News, was the next step in undermining trust, though many other outlets gave Trump’s wild claims a platform they didn’t deserve.

From Los Angeles Times

Years before he announced his presidential run at Trump Tower in New York, he led the spread of “birtherism,” a potent mix of conspiracy theory and racism that sought to delegitimize President Barack Obama.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023