Business magnate Donald Trump has attacked his Republican opponent Ted Cruz by questioning the latters eligibility to be a presidential candidate. The controversial real estate mogul, who trails Cruz in the state of Iowa, claimed that the Texas senator was born in Canada.
In a campaign stop at Clear Lake, Trump said that there was ambiguity on whether he meets the constitutional rights to be a natural born citizen. You cant have a person whos running for office, even though Ted is very glib and he goes out and says Well, Im a natural-born citizen, but the point is youre not, Trump pointed out.
Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada, to a Cuban father but an American mother, which automatically conferred upon him the American citizenship. Most legal experts agree that satisfies the requirement to be a natural-born citizen, a term which has not been properly defined to be eligible to contest US presidential polls.
Quoting constitutional expert Laurence Tribe, of Harvard University, Trump tweeted that the question who is a natural-born citizen is not a settled matter. Incidentally, Tribe had taught Cruz Constitutional Law in Harward.
Moreover, Trump said that Cruz would have to go to court to get a declaratory judgment about his eligibility or you have a candidate who just cannot run. The 45-year-old will have to obtain a judgment if someone filed a lawsuit to challenge his candidacy, according to the New York Times.
The billionaire raked up the eligibility issue as polls in Iowa showed neck-and-neck competition ​between the two contenders.​ Commenting on the issue, Cruz said: Under longstanding federal law, the child of a U.S. citizen born abroad is a natural-born citizen. He was speaking on Saturday ahead of his final stop during a six-day bus tour of Iowa.
Youre seeing candidates trying to throw whatever rocks they can. Thats fine, thats their prerogative. I like Donald Trump, I respect Donald Trump. Hes welcome to toss whatever attacks he wants, he added.
The only way to win Iowa is one voter at a time, showing the voters, the men and women of Iowa, the respect to look them in the eyes, to answer their questions. I dont believe any candidate will win the state of Iowa, and I dont believe any candidate will win the state of New Hampshire from a TV studio in Washington, D.C., or in Manhattan.
