The idea that Trump doesn’t want to talk about a fringe conspiracy theory that he worked hard to elevate to the political mainstream seems difficult to believe. But that was then, this is now. Trump was willing to promote conspiracy theories rooted in racism as a way to appeal to resentful white voters when he wanted to make a political name for himself. Now that he faces a general election fight, he seems to want to leave that in the past, without truly doing penance for his prior offenses.

Yet no matter what Trump says, birtherism won’t simply disappear.

Political tactics based on appeals to discrimination and identity politics have long lifespans. Hillary Clinton is confronting similar tactics as she contends with insinuations—made by Trump, his supporters, and other political opponents—that she may be too weak and frail to serve as president. And while some Trump supporters may want to put birtherism behind them, not all of the Republican nominee’s backers may be so willing to move on.

On Friday morning, a few Trump fans gathered outside his hotel to show support for the candidate before he spoke. Nineteen-year-old Jim McCrery and 57-year-old Don Davis identified themselves as Trump supporters, and both said they believe it is possible that Obama was not born in the United States. “A family friend of mine was born in Hawaii the same year that Obama was, and he said his birth certificate looks completely different. So I think that’s a little suspicious,” McCrery said. “If you look at the things he does, he’s so anti-American,” Davis offered.

Then there were the few Trump detractors who assembled outside Trump’s new property, just blocks away from the White House. Jeff Stein, a 32-year-old from California, had arrived ahead of the press conference with a sign that read “Man up and apologize, you pathetic racist coward!!!”—evidently intended for Trump.

“This is the original sin, and I still think it’s the worst one,” Stein told me, referring to the way Trump promoted the birther controversy. “When you vault your political career by relentlessly badgering the first black president to show his papers, you’re deplorable.” Stein voiced frustration over media coverage of Trump supporters during this election cycle: “What really bothers me is that [people say] it’s unacceptable to call his supporters deplorable. You can’t call them bigoted, racist, white supremacists—you have to make up nice-sounding names for them, like nationalists or populists,” he said, adding that he plans to vote for Clinton. “They can say whatever offensive stuff they want, but you call them out on it and all of a sudden they’re the victim.”

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