Cruz: Trump’s comments on citizenship ‘silly’
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Wednesday brushed off speculation that being born in Canada will affect his eligibility to become president.
“We need a commander in chief who has the experience, who has the knowledge, who has the clarity of vision, who has the judgment, who has the strength of resolve to keep this country safe,” he said on “The Mark Gallagher Show.”
{mosads}”Engaging in silly circus sideshow debates about things that are not consequential is not productive to making that determination,” Cruz continued. “I’m going to keep my focus on keeping this country safe, and I’ll let others worry about the silly stuff.”
GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump has questioned whether Cruz can legally be president.
“Republicans are going to have to ask themselves the question: ‘Do we want a candidate who could be tied up in court for two years?’ That’d be a big problem,” Trump said Tuesday.
Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother and held dual citizenship for most of his life. He renounced his Canadian citizenship after being elected to the Senate in 2012.
The U.S. Constitution says that only a “natural born citizen” can be president, a category long believed to include anyone who was born to a U.S. citizen, even if outside the country.
During the interview Wednesday, Cruz also took aim at President Obama over his proposed executive actions to address gun violence.
“Here’s the consistent mistake that Barack Obama has had with respect to both crime at home and terrorism abroad: He fails to distinguish between good guys and bad guys,” Cruz said.
“You don’t stop the bad guys by taking away our guns,” he added. “You stop the bad guys by using our guns.”
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