John McCain: ‘I Don’t Know’ If Cruz Is A ‘Natural Born Citizen’

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 5,2015, before a GOP luncheon. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)
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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Wednesday said he was unsure if Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was eligible to be president given that the Texas senator was born in Canada.

“I don’t know the answer to that,” McCain said when asked about Cruz’s citizenship status on KFYI550’s “Chris Merrill Show,” according to audio posted by Buzzfeed News.

Questions about Cruz’s birth place resurfaced this week when Donald Trump expressed skepticism about Cruz’s eligibility to run for president given that the senator was born in Canada to an American mother. Cruz said on Tuesday that it is “settled law that the child of a U.S. citizen born abroad is a natural born citizen,” making him eligible for the presidency.

McCain noted that the issue of eligibility came up in his 2008 bid for the White House since he was born in Panama. He was born on a military base, which was a U.S. territory, making him eligible to run for president.

“I know it came up in my race because I was born in Panama, but I was born in the Canal Zone which is a territory. Barry Goldwater was born in Arizona when it was a territory when he ran in 1964,” McCain said on Wednesday.

“That’s different from being born on foreign soil so I think there is a question. I am not a Constitutional scholar on that, but I think it’s worth looking into. I don’t think it’s illegitimate to look into it,” the Arizona senator added.

Trump’s comments prompted other conservatives, including Ann Coulter and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), to question Cruz’s eligibility.

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Notable Replies

  1. McCain: Even an indirect implication that the guy I lost to is an American is unacceptable. Accepting Cruz will give legitimacy to the black guy. I also dont like Cruz, no one does.

  2. “That’s different from being born on foreign soil so I think there is a question. I am not a Constitutional scholar on that, but I think it’s worth looking into. I don’t think it’s illegitimate to look into it,” the Arizona senator added.

    John Sidney McCain III
    August 29, 1936 (age 79)
    Coco Solo Naval Air Station, Panama Canal Zone

    The Senate has unanimously declared John McCain a natural-born citizen, eligible to be president of the United States.

    That is the good news for the presumptive Republican nominee, who was born nearly 72 years ago in a military hospital in the Panama Canal Zone, then under U.S. jurisdiction. The bad news is that the nonbinding Senate resolution passed Wednesday night is simply an opinion that has little bearing on an arcane constitutional debate that has preoccupied legal scholars for many weeks.

    Article II of the Constitution states that “no person except a natural born citizen . . . shall be eligible to the office of president.” The problem is that the Founding Fathers never defined exactly what they meant by “natural born citizen,” and the matter has never been fully tested in court. At least three pending cases are challenging McCain’s right to be sworn in as president.

    Careful with that ax Johnny

  3. McCain knows, the law regarding this situation is very simple,and straight forward. He has a grudge against Cruz and casting doubt in the voters mind is his form of revenge.

  4. I see why the Republican Party isn’t interested in immigration reform. Their foreigners seem to have no problem getting public welfare with the laws as they are. Just call welfare a “Congressional salary”.

    Hey, they apparently don’t have to work either.

  5. If we collectively stopped talking about or linking to Ann Coulter when she says something hateful or foolish, I wonder what would happen? Would she do something legit newsworthy? Curious to find out.

    No one mention “bell tower” to Ann.

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