Texplainer: Could Canadian-Born Ted Cruz Be President?
Hey, Texplainer: Ted Cruz is so hot right now, some people are saying he could run for president. But Cruz wasn’t born in the U.S., so how does that affect his ability to run for the highest office?
Since Ted Cruz won the Republication nomination for U.S. Senate on July 31, columns have been written about Cruz as a potential presidential candidate in 2016 or beyond — and whether the circumstances of his birth may preclude him from some day running for the highest office.
Cruz was born in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta, on Dec. 22 ...
Comments (27)
David Huang via Texas Tribune on Facebook
What is this obsession with naming him a future presidential candidate when he hasn't even won the TX Senate race yet?
John Weaver via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Are these the same people who don't want children of illegal immigrants born in the USA shipped home or not considered a citizen as spelled out in the constitution?
Phil Pepin via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Good question David, this is how it's done it's all image not substance. In the GOP the only thing that matters is winning ideology be damned.
Matt Treat via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Vote Paul Sadler for US Senate! No more bitter tea for Texas!
Louis Molnár via Texas Tribune on Facebook
True enough: I'm a Canadian citizen born in the U.S. I could be President of the U.S. AND Prime Minister of Canada...!
Stanley Moore via Texas Tribune on Facebook
He couldn't be president period, no matter where he was born. Tio Tomas.
Jim Hsu via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Arnold Schwartzenegger, and now Ted Cruz....ever notice it's always the Republicans wondering about bending the Constitution? Yeah, the same people who want to SELECTIVELY use Constitution AND BIBLE to justify however they want to behave.
Felipe Gutierrez via Texas Tribune on Facebook
You mean Rafael Cruz? The Latino against immigration reform.
April Johnson via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Constitutional experts? Can they come to some Fort Worth city council meetings and tell them its not ok to start a meeting with prayer? Surely, that's in there somewhere..
Cliff McSparran via Texas Tribune on Facebook
If a Texan with a Latino surname becomes president, let's pray to God it's someone with the name Castro. As in Julián or Joaquín.
Elaine Wiant via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I was taught in school that "natural born" meant born in the US. But the Constitution doesn't elaborate. Many interpretations since then, much like many other clauses in the Constitution.
Tom Walker
If being born in Kenya would exclude a person from being president, being born in Canada should, too.
Dave Fury via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Natural born does mean born here. There are no other interpretations.
Adele Roberson
This is going to explode the heads of all the Birthers. Trump better hold on tight to his hairpiece.
Sergio Hernandez De Santos via Texas Tribune on Facebook
My anchor baby children are more eligible than this nutjob
Jose B. Gonzalez via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Cruz for president??? That is hilarious - borderline crazy!!! Cruz CAN'T pull the Hispanic vote - he can pull the Cuban vote, but that block of voters is a relatively small portion of the Latino/Hispanic vote... Besides, the GOP didn't want Rubio as vice-president, what makes anyone think they would truly want Cruz as president...
Samdavis
He hasn't even had the chance to be the second worst Senator from Texas. Let him flounder around for a while and then he'll be good GOP material.
Home Cooker via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Born in Canada! ha! no way!
Robert Ruiz via Texas Tribune on Facebook
give me a break.
jrd
Felipe Gutierrez: "The Latino against immigration reform."
So, if a person is Latino, that means they must believe [fill in the blank], simply because they are Latino?
Jon Roland
This article is wrong on several points.
First, "natural born" is defined, like other constitutional terms (except "treason"), in historical legal usage, mainly found in court cases, specifically Calvin's Case, or commentaries, such as those of Blackstone. The term refers to the physical circumstances of one's birth -- on the soil of a country -- as distinct from the result of a legislative enactment, which is naturalization, that can make one a citizen at birth, but that is not natural born.
Because Ted Cruz was born in Canada, he is forever ineligible to serve as President, unless the U.S. should annex Canada and make it part of U.S. soil. That would qualify Cruz retroactively. John McCain was not eligible, despite the Senate resolution, because he was naturalized by statute. The Panama Canal Zone was a leasehold, not incorporated U.S. territory.
Everything you need on the subject may be found at http://www.constitution.org/abus/pres_elig.htm
Juan Reynoso
Fellow Texans, when are we going to stop the corrupt lawyers from trashing our constitution by using their own interpretation of the Constitution, where is their common sense?. The supreme court and Obama had a field trashing our constitution now every F$%# lawyer follow the traitors. God save American from our own ignorance and self destruction. Obama was elected and not one have force this traitor to show poof off being born in the United States. Only one person has the cojones to demand the truth and that person is a true American, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa county Arizona. We call ourselves Americans but we do not have the courage to defend our State and country from the invasion of Mexicans, why we are ignoring our laws and playing a charade to show the people that we are doing some thing about this huge problem. let's face we are a nation of cowards that is why we are loosing our country, this it is not the United States any more is Mexamerica the third world country that live on credit and welfare.
Another 99%
Natural Born Citizen, means...........natural born citizen. No Orwellian interpretation needed. McCain was born on a military base, Obama in Hawaii. Cruz born in Canada. Canada is not a America. Issue over.
Joseph Sanderson via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Personally, I interpret the "natural born" requirement to prohibit those born by Cesarian section from standing for President. Clearly, the Founders had just read Macbeth and were worried about a Macduff campaign.
Dale Curry
This from the bigots that gave us the term anchor-baby and the concept of birtherism. This has got to be a "personal best" of cognitive dissonance by the crazies in the t-party. This man is not even Senator, and we are discussing a run for the White House???? Give me a break! Even if he wins the Senate seat, hasn't Rick Perry's run taught these people that the rest of the country has a much higher standard than we do in Texas?
Lord Magus
It's widely reported that McCain was born at Coco Solo Hospital in the Canal Zone, but there are also reports that he was born in Colon, Panama, outside the Canal Zone, as the naval hospital did not have a maternity ward. Some even claim that the naval hospital at Coco Solo wasn't built yet at the time of McCain's birth. In any event, a military base in a foreign country may be under US control, but that doesn't make it US soil. McCain's status as "natural born" comes solely from his parents being US citizens.
BTW, to Jon Roland, the Constitution explicitly defines treason: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court." No reliance on outside definitions at all.
emer vattel
Obama's father was not an immigrant. Obama does not meet the subject to jurisdiction in the 14th Amendment.