birtherism

noun

birth·​er·​ism ˈbər-thər-ˌi-zəm How to pronounce birtherism (audio)
variants or less commonly Birtherism
: belief in or endorsement of any of various discredited claims that former U.S. president Barack Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen and therefore was not constitutionally eligible to be president of the United States

Examples of birtherism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Harris also mentioned Trump's role in spreading birtherism lies about former President Barack Obama. Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2024 By 2011, Trump was already fueling birtherism, falsely implying President Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. Paola Ramos, TIME, 23 Oct. 2024 That birtherism really is what launched Donald Trump's political career in a lot of ways. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 20 Sep. 2024 Willfully complicating the name’s pronunciation or questioning its ethnic origins—as happened during Barack Obama’s presidency and Donald Trump’s ongoing obsession with the birtherism lie—is a calculated tactic rooted in blatant bigotry. Mekita Rivas, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for birtherism 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'birtherism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

birther entry 1 + -ism

First Known Use

2009, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of birtherism was in 2009

Dictionary Entries Near birtherism

Cite this Entry

“Birtherism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birtherism. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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