CNN anchor Chris Cuomo apologized Thursday for a since-deleted tweet in which he appeared to suggest that Sen. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisThe Hill's Campaign Report: Trump and Biden vie for Minnesota | Early voting begins in four states | Blue state GOP governors back Susan Collins Kamala Harris: Black Americans have been 'disproportionately harmed' by Trump Biden town hall draws 3.3 million viewers for CNN MORE (D-Calif.) needs to prove that she was born in the U.S.

Cuomo said during an appearance on ABC's "The View" that he "screwed up" and that the tweet, which he sent Tuesday, was misinterpreted.

ADVERTISEMENT

"And hopefully there will be no games where the issue keeps changing for righty accusers…and…the legit info abt Harris comes out to deal with the allegation ASAP. The longer there is no proof either way, the deeper the effect," Cuomo's original tweet read.

The tweet drew swift criticism on Twitter, with some saying that Cuomo was giving weight to the false claim that Harris — who was born in Oakland — is not eligible to run for president because her parents are immigrants.

Cuomo said during his interview on "The View" that his tweet was intended to make the point that Harris shouldn't have to defend herself against those accusations. He added that he made his point "poorly."

"You don’t get to disparage people this way because of their race, because you don’t like what they represent," he said. "And what I’m saying is before we go through this again, if you have an accusation, put up or shut up. Kamala Harris shouldn’t have to go through this. That was my point. I made it poorly.”

Cuomo also apologized for the remark in a subsequent series of tweets Tuesday, saying that the original tweet "was taken literally the opposite way that I intended it."

I agree with all of this. The tweet was meant to put onus on accuser. Not Harris. That is the lesson of birtherism. Deleting original tweet to make this clear. Apologies. https://t.co/6vAHXNjDtr — Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) January 22, 2019

Deleted my original tweet because it was taken literally the opposite way that I intended it. Sen Harris has no duty to justify any such accusation, let alone a birtherism attack. You accuse, you prove. That was my point. Apologize for confusion. — Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) January 22, 2019

Harris announced this week that she will seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.