Washington – Arizona Sen. John McCain said questions surrounding Ted Cruz’s right to run for president since he was born in Canada should be explored, even as some argue that Cruz is still considered a natural born citizen.
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Speaking on the Chris Merrill Show in Phoenix late Wednesday, McCain said concerns raised by Republican front-runner Donald Trump over whether Cruz can be president are legitimate.
“I think there is a question,” McCain said. “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.”
Cruz was born in Alberta, Canada to an American mother and Cuban father. He renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2014.
McCain himself was born on a military base in the Panama Canal, an issue raised during his 2008 presidential run against Barack Obama, whose American birth was doubted by some, leading to failed legal challenges.
“That’s different from being born on foreign soil,” McCain said, highlighting that the Panama Canal was an unorganized territory of the United States for much of the 20th century.
Cruz dismissed the claims Wednesday, before McCain made his comments. On a campaign stop in Iowa, Cruz said it is “quite straightforward and settled law that the child of a U.S. citizen born abroad is a natural born citizen,” he said.
“John McCain was born in Panama, but he was a natural born citizen because his parents were U.S. citizens,” Cruz added.
Both men used the example of Barry Goldwater, the Republican party’s nominee for president in 1964, as an example to defend their claims. Goldwater was born in Arizona before it became a state, but both of his parents held U.S. citizenship, allowing him to run.
After Hillary I’d vote this bafoon a the sleaziest politician out there
The Goldwater example is nourishkeit…Arizona was a United States Territory before statehood…and one born there would be a natural born citizen in any event.
I wonder what all the birthers are going to do with this…the allegations contesting Cruz’s status have as much pseudo-substance to them as do the claims made ad nauseum by the birther idiots who keep alleging Obama is not a citizen. But, oh my word, conservative Cruz is their boy! Now what are they going to do?!
obama is kenyan and Muslim, nough said.
If I am already voting for a Canadian for president of the US I would prefer Stephen Harper.
To #14 - You should get your facts straight. The C-130’s, which the IDF flew to Entebbe on July 4, 1976, did not refuel in Kenya on the way to Uganda. Rather, they stopped there to refuel on the way back. Also, the IDF brought wounded civilians and soldiers to Kenya for treatment on the way back. Kenya and EY, have enjoyed very good relations over the years.
To: Ayinglefunadorf-#23- You should recheck your sources again; the fact of the matter is that there were three C-130 cargo planes, which landed at Entebbe Airport; please note the correct spelling of “Entebbe”. They DID NOT land at Nairobi for refueling, until after the raid was completed. They only had 53 minutes on the ground, and there was no time to refuel prior to the raid. However, there were two Boeing 707’s, which accompanied the C-130’s. One of them was a communications plane, which flew over Entebbe during the actual raid. The other Boeing 707 was a medical plane, which landed at Entebbe prior to the raid for refueling, as it had to be ready to evacuate the wounded, if necessary, and administer first aid. After the raid, the three C-130’s, and the remaining Boeing 707 did indeed come to Nairobi, Kenya for refueling. I’ve studied the raid on Entebbe for nearly forty years, and I know my facts. Case closed!