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Is Nikki Haley eligible to run for President?

2024-02-10 17:33:39, Kosova & Bota CNA

Nikki Haley

Casting doubt on his political rivals, whether they meet the conditions to run for President of the United States, is one of the main strategies of Mr. Donald Trump's campaign. As Voice of America correspondent Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, the other Republican candidate, Nikki Haley, is the latest object of accusations related to the criteria that the Constitution defines for who can run for president.

"She has no right to be president. I know this very well," former President Trump said to Mrs. Nikki Haley while campaigning in Iowa.

He has returned to a familiar campaign tactic, raising doubts about whether rivals have the legal right to run for president.

These tactics include misinterpreting the law, or casting doubt on candidates' birthplaces.

In January, Mr. Trump circulated an article online that falsely claimed rival Haley was ineligible because her Indian parents were not American citizens at the time of her birth.

Mrs. Haley was born in South Carolina. The American Constitution is clear about who can become President, experts explain.

"The constitution requires that the candidate be over 35 years old and born within the country. All those born in the United States are eligible citizens, regardless of their parents' immigration or citizenship status," says Allan Richtman, Professor of History at American University.

Ms Haley is not the first to be targeted by Mr Trump. Former Democratic President Barack Obama and Mr. Trump's Republican rivals in the 2016 race, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, were also the subject of such allegations and had to deny them.

"I know for sure where I was born, and I think most people knew that," says Barack Obama, former President of the United States.

There is a reason why only those born in the USA are eligible to run for President.

"This avoids the suspicion that the president may be loyal to some other country, or inclined to act against American interests," says University of Chicago political science professor Mark Hansen.

This condition is not expected to be removed from the constitution.

"The constitutional amendment requires approval by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress and then approval by three-quarters of the states. "I have not seen any request to remove or soften the condition of citizenship under the Constitution," says historian Allan Lichtman of American University.

Any citizen born in the USA has the opportunity to challenge accusations that he is not qualified for the office of President.

"The objection can be made by showing the birth certificate. Claims about where children were born usually rely on a form of racism and xenophobia, and therefore should have no place in American politics," says Ravi Perry, professor of political science at Howard University.

Nikki Haley is eligible to be president and has dismissed theories against her, including mocking her Indian name Nimarata, by Mr Trump.

"I don't worry if it's personal or what he means by it," Ms. Haley says.

As the political wars heat up, analysts encourage voters not to fall prey to accusations about a candidate's place of birth and other misinformation related to the presidential election, by knowing the Constitution and checking the controversial claims that are circulating, in so that they can make decisions based on accurate information when they go to the polling stations in November./ VOA