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Trump revives 'birtherism' as Harris gains in polls

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Donald Trump is facing a fierce backlash for questioning the race of US election rival Kamala Harris, but to those acquainted with the Republican's long history of inflammatory language and behavior around the issue, the smear was nothing new.

Trump's political career was forged in the cauldron of the 2010s 'birther' conspiracy theory that sought to delegitimize then-president Barack Obama — who had a Kenyan father — by claiming falsely that he was born abroad.