The front-runner to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ old Senate seat in Alabama still doesn’t think President Obama was born in the U.S., in spite of proof that he was.
Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore said last December that he didn’t think Obama was a natural-born U.S. citizen, comments that came months after even original birther Donald Trump had admitted that he accepted the proof of Obama’s birthplace.
“My opinion is, there is a big question about that,” Moore said when asked at a December 2016 Constitution Party event about Obama’s birthplace in footage obtained by CNN. “My personal belief is that he wasn’t, but that’s probably over and done in a few days, unless we get something else to come along.”
As CNN points out, Moore has long backed the racially charged birther conspiracy that Obama may not have been born in the U.S.
Moore, a controversial figure known for his hard-right religious views and stances, finished in first place with 39 percent of the vote in last week’s GOP primary to fill Sessions’ old seat, with appointed Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) pulling 33 percent of the vote.
The two will square off in a primary runoff in late September that promises to be a brutal race, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his allies doing all they can to boost Strange.
That appears to be an uphill battle, however. The first public poll of the race, released earlier this week, showed Moore leading Strange by 51 percent to 32 percent.
