The White House Keeps Pushing False Claims of Voter Fraud. It’s Not Just to Boost the President’s Ego. (Slate)

Birtherism, the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was born abroad and thus ineligible for the presidency, served a very specific purpose. It was a tool of delegitimization, a means to drive xenophobic suspicion and racial hostility. It’s why Donald Trump, its chief advocate, never truly dropped the crusade—not after wide condemnation from critics and fact-checkers; not after wide ridicule from much of the public; and not after Obama released his long-form birth certificate, debunking the charge outright. “A lot of people question it,” said Trump in a 2015 question-and-answer session with Fox News’ Sean Hannity a few months before he announced his bid for the White House.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/02/the_trump_administration_is_pushing_the_voter_fraud_falsehood_still.html