Believe it or not, there are still some people left who believe that Obama might not have been born in the United States. And two of the most famous “birthers”—Donald Trump and Arizona’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio—are celebrating their birthdays today. The two birthday boys are turning 80 and 66, respectively.
Compiling the coincidences, today is also the day that Hawaii officially became a United States territory. Why is that a coincidence? Because Hawaii is where President Obama was really born—not Kenya, which is the most popular birther theory.
Happy birthday to Donald and Joe, and good luck to the intrepid sheriff on his investigation into the president’s origins!
Ned Resnikoff is an urban policy analyst, researcher, writer, and editor. His byline has appeared in a variety of publications, including the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Dissent, and The Nation. He writes the newsletter Public Comment, which can be found at publiccomment.blog.