Ted Cruz, Barack Obama — Peas in a Pod? Natural Born Citizens Eligible to be President (Even if Not Born in the U.S.)
There has been considerable discussion of late about whether Ted Cruz, born in Canada to a U.S. citizen mother and Cuban father, is a natural born U.S. citizen eligible to be President. Elie Mystal on Above the Law makes a very good point that seems to have largely gone under the radar. It is a point that shows some of the hypocrisy of the claims of many of the “birthers” who attacked President Obama’s eligibility for the Presidency. Donald Trump does seem consistent, however, in questioning both Obama’s and Cruz’s eligibility.
Through a birth certificate, Barack Obama has shown that that he was born in Hawaii, to a Kenyan father and a U.S. citizen mother. But assume that Obama was not born in Hawaii. As Mystal points out, “Obama’s eligibility would be just as solid as Ted Cruz’s… even if Obama really had been born in Kenya. If Obama had been born in Kenya, he’d still have a U.S. Citizen mom, and that would still be enough, according to Ted Cruz, his supporters, and most legal scholars.” However, as Peter Spiro pointed out in commentary published at the heyday of the “birther controversy,” President Obama may not have satisfied the statutory requirements for citizenship upon his birth outside the United States.
I must admit that I find the latest “natural born citizen” sideshow highly amusing. Still, let me make it clear that I am in full agreement with Peter Spiro, and others, that “It’s time to make all American citizens eligible to run for and serve as president. “
KJ