‘Ironic’ If Ted Cruz Nominated After Obama Birther Debate, White House Says

Republican front-runner Donald Trump reintroduced the issue of Cruz’s presidential eligibility Tuesday during an interview with the Washington Post. The last thing Trump wants is for Cruz to be amused by him.

“When people say, ‘Why do you always talk about the polls?’ I say, ‘Because I’m winning!'” Trump boasted at a January 5 rally in New Hampshire, according to WMUR.

The images play as a voiceover runs in the background of Cruz delivering part of his stump speech, where he says illegal immigration would be taken more seriously if the people coming into the country were working different jobs.

Most legal experts believe Cruz easily meets the definition of a “natural-born American citizen” because his mother was an American.

Since Cruz’s mother was a US citizen when she gave birth to her son, and even though the future senator from Texas experienced his first moments north of the USA border with Canada, until the age of 3, he didn’t have to petition for citizenship.

Trump, the real-estate billionaire, had previously demanded that President Barack Obama prove he was born in the United States. The New Republic’s Brian Beutler noted at the time that the Florida senator may have received less attention, but he actually adopted “a policy far more draconian than even Trump’s”. “On a lunch break from the U.S. Senate, he could head to the nearby embassy – the one flying a bright red maple leaf flag – pull out his Calgary, Alberta, birth certificate and obtain a passport”.

“We’re not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers”, Obama said at the time.

The episode demonstrated a developing dynamic in the Republican race: Cruz doesn’t want a fight with Trump, but Trump is spoiling for one himself.

“I hear it was checked out by every attorney and every which way and I understand Ted is in fine shape”, Trump told ABC News last September of his rival’s constitutional eligibility because of his birthplace.

The Cruz campaign responded by saying Mr Trump had “jumped the shark” – a pop culture reference to when a TV show or fad has overreached and fallen into decline.

Still, some critics of Cruz have suggested taking the issue to court.

Trump released a provocative ad earlier this week, his first of the campaign, that focuses on his call to ban Muslims and included news footage from the aftermath of the San Bernardino terror attack.

The president then mocked Trump over the issue at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner that year.

The Texas Senator has now moved into a statistical tie with businessman Trump for the lead in this state’s Republican presidential primary.