Sen. John McCain
John Sidney McCainHouse Freedom Caucus chair weighs Arizona Senate bid Cindy McCain planning 'intimate memoir' of life with John McCain Trump-McConnell rift divides GOP donors MORE (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday questioned Ted Cruz
Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzTanden withdraws nomination as Biden budget chief Boehner book jacket teases slams against Cruz, Trump Senate confirms Biden Commerce secretary pick Gina Raimondo MORE's eligibility to be president, piling on to recent attacks over the Texas senator’s citizenship.
John Sidney McCainHouse Freedom Caucus chair weighs Arizona Senate bid Cindy McCain planning 'intimate memoir' of life with John McCain Trump-McConnell rift divides GOP donors MORE (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday questioned Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzTanden withdraws nomination as Biden budget chief Boehner book jacket teases slams against Cruz, Trump Senate confirms Biden Commerce secretary pick Gina Raimondo MORE's eligibility to be president, piling on to recent attacks over the Texas senator’s citizenship.“I don’t know the answer to that,” McCain said of the GOP candidate's eligibility in a radio interview on “The Chris Merrill Show” in Arizona, which was reported by BuzzFeed.
ADVERTISEMENT
“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, the 2008 GOP nominee, faced similar skepticism while he was running for president, but McCain noted that there are differences between his and Cruz’s birthplaces.
The Arizona senator was born on a U.S. military base. Cruz was born in Canada, but his mother was a U.S. citizen.
“Yeah, it was a U.S. military base,” McCain said. “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 Constitution says that in order to run for president, one must be a "natural born citizen" — long regarded as anyone born to a U.S. citizen, regardless of where that person is born.
McCain was weighing in on recent questions from GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump
Donald TrumpSouth Carolina Senate adds firing squad as alternative execution method Ex-Trump aide Pierson won't run for Dallas-area House seat House Oversight panel reissues subpoena for Trump's accounting firm MORE about whether Cruz is a natural born citizen.
Donald TrumpSouth Carolina Senate adds firing squad as alternative execution method Ex-Trump aide Pierson won't run for Dallas-area House seat House Oversight panel reissues subpoena for Trump's accounting firm MORE about whether Cruz is a natural born citizen.“You go to federal court, you ask for a declaratory judgment. Once the court rules, you have your decision,” Trump said in a Wednesday interview with CNN. “That will clear it all up."
Cruz is pushing back on claims over his citizenship, saying he never owned a Canadian passport.
"Of course not," Cruz told CNN earlier Wednesday. "Yes, I'm sure. The media, with all due respect, love to engage in silly sideshows. We need to focus on what matters."
