After initially raising questions about Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) eligibility to run for president last week, Donald Trump over the weekend continued to prod the Texas senator to prove that he can run for president as an American citizen born in Canada.
“You can’t have a person who’s running for office, even though Ted is very glib and he goes out and says ‘Well, I’m a natural-born citizen,’ but the point is you’re not,” Trump said at an Iowa campaign event on Saturday, according to the New York Times.
The Constitution requires that the president be a “natural born citizen,” and there is some question whether Cruz, who was born in Canada to an American mother, qualifies. Most believe that since Cruz became an American citizen at birth, he is eligible to run for president, but Trump’s remarks have prompted numerous politicians to wonder whether Cruz is decisively eligible for the presidency. Cruz himself has maintained that he is qualified to run.
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Trump referenced Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, who recently said that the law surrounding Cruz’s eligibility is “murky and unsettled.”
“So what happens is I was watching Laurence Tribe of Harvard yesterday, who’s a constitutional expert; one of the true experts. And according to him, it’s a real question mark. You know, I would say he is one of the great authorities on this subject. He has a question mark,” Trump said about Cruz’s citizenship status.
Trump said that Cruz ought to confirm his eligibility in order to avoid confrontation from Democrats.
“From Ted’s standpoint and from the party’s standpoint, he has to solve this problem. Because the Democrats will sue him if he’s the nominee,” he said.
