Hello all,
In denouncing Cruz's eligibility to run for President, Trump doesn't quite get it right. Here's why: Article 2 of the Constitution requires the President to be, among other things, a "natural born citizen." While it has been correctly said that a “natural born citizen” was not defined in the original Constitution, which is also true of a “citizen,” suffice it to say that in 18th Century America, it was understood that a “natural born citizen” is someone who is a citizen, born on native soil, and whose two parents were both citizens, and both born on native soil. The Framers required the President to be a natural born citizen because they feared that the President, as the commander-in-chief, might divide his loyalty if were of a dual citizenship. Recall that they had just fought a war with England, the superpower then, and you could understand their fear.
There is one very important aspect about a natural born citizen that was also widely understood in 18th Century America, but not explicitly defined. Namely, “Coverture,” which was an Anglo-American common law concept, derived from feudal Norman custom. It basically said that during marriage, a woman's legal status as an individual was suspended under “marital unity,” a legal fiction in which the husband and wife were considered a single entity: the husband. And with coverture, which was normally accepted and in full force in 18th Century America, it was the father who conferred his citizenship on his children. In other words, children inherit their father's citizenship.
Since Article 2 was never amended to redefine a "natural born citizen" or repeal "coverture," this means that since Rafael Cruz, Ted's father, was born in Cuba, Ted is categorically a Cuban citizen, and therefore, he is absolutely constitutionally ineligible to run for President. This is what Trump should focus on, not whether Cruz was born in Canada. And if Trump likes, he could also denounce any Presidential candidate who charmingly, and with much warmheartedness, praise their “two immigrant parents.” (BTW, Article 1 requires a Senator to be, among other things, "nine years a citizen of the United States." I wonder: Does Trump realize that Ted Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship in May 2014, but he ran for Senator in November 2012, and won?)
Thanks for reading. And I hope I was helpful to Trump.
Alton