Is he or isn’t he? That is the question surrounding Canadian-born Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s constitutional eligibility to be president of the United States should he come out on top after a long primary season and win the GOP nomination. Cruz, born in Alberta, Canada to an American mother and Cuban father, renounced his citizenship only 18 months ago, finds himself in an awkward and somewhat ironic position, a Republican running for president whose birth and citizenship are being questioned after years of GOP “birther” conspiracy theories.
Donald Trump, eager to see Cruz’s numbers fall in Iowa so he can reclaim the top spot in polls here heading into the first in the nation caucuses, has fueled the fire on the emerging headache for the Texas senator’s White house campaign, tweeting “Ted–free legal advice on how to pre-empt the Dems on citizen issue. Go to court now & seek Declaratory Judgment–you will win!”
The Republicans’ 2008 nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain face similar questions over his eligibility because he was born in U.S. territory on a military base in the Panama Canal Zone. That year the U.S. Senate passed a non-binding resolution supporting their colleague and declaring McCain constitutionally eligible, effectively dismissing critics who claimed otherwise.
During a radio interview this week, McCain, who has often been at odds with Cruz in the U.S. Senate and once famously referred to the Texan as a “wacko bird,” seemed to leave some room on the question when asked, commenting “I think there is a question. I am not a constitutional scholar on that, but I think it’s worth looking into.”
One place where the Cruz citizenship debacle is being met with some amusement is the White House. When asked if the president was enjoying the controversy around Cruz, Press Secretary Josh Earnest replied “I don’t know if he does, but I sure do.”
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