News   /   Politics

Trump: Cruz's birth 'problem' makes him ineligible

Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump (L) and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas speak during a commercial break in the Fox Business Network Republican presidential debate at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center on January 14, 2016. (AFP photo)

US Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump reiterated his criticism of rival Senator Ted Cruz’s birthplace, saying the Canadian-born candidate should drop out of the 2016 race for the White House.

“It's time for Ted Cruz to either settle his problem with the FACT that he was born in Canada and was a citizen of Canada, or get out of race,” the billionaire businessman tweeted on Monday.

In recent weeks, Trump has raised questions about Cruz’s eligibility to become president of the United States because of his birthplace.

Cruz, who has surged as Trump’s closest competitor in the contest for the Republican nomination, was born in Canada to a Cuban father and a mother who is a US citizen.

At a campaign event in Iowa over the weekend, Trump floated the idea of filing a lawsuit against Cruz over the issue.

“I’ve said Ted has a lot of problems — number one, Canada. He could run for the Prime Minister of Canada and I wouldn’t even complain because he was born in Canada,” he said.

“The Democrats are going to sue if he ever got the nomination within two days. There have already been two lawsuits filed, but they don’t have standing. I have standing to sue,” Trump told his supporters.

Trump previously said that Cruz’s Canadian birthplace could be "very precarious" for the Republican Party.

“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 told the Washington Post earlier this month.

Trump continues to lead his rivals nationally, and has gained ground in Iowa, besting Senator Ted Cruz, 34 to 23 percent in the Hawkeye State, according to a new poll by Fox News.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku