Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Has Trump Ruled Out Cruz As VP By Raising Constitutional Eligibility?

Update; It couldn't be clearer that Trump's point about needless uncertainty is valid;

"John McCain: 

Ted Cruz's citizenship is "worth looking into"


Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post that Republican voters should think twice before voting for Cruz, who could face challenges to his eligibility to serve as president given that he was born in Canada, and not the United States.
"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 said in the interview. "It'd be a very precarious one for Republicans because he'd be running and the courts may take a long time to make decision. You don't want to be running and have that kind of thing over your head."


I'm not going to get into whether or not Senator Cruz has Constitutional eligibility to assume the office of president of the United States. Some have argue the matter is settled in Cruz's favor, others, vehemently say no.

Because there is this difference of opinion the fundamental core of what Donald Trump stated in respect of Cruz's eligibility is correct. That is, the matter in respect of Cruz, or any other presidential candidate, has not been argued before the Supreme Court.

That fact leaves the matter open to being presented to the court, as Democratic Congressman and Florida senate candidate Alan Grayson advises he would do:

Florida Congressman Alan Grayson told radio host Alan Colmes Wednesday that if Ted Cruz is elected president, he “will file that beautiful lawsuit saying that he’s unqualified for the job” according to the Constitution.

It is also how Vermont man H. Brooke Paige  will attend to the matter (and for Rubio and Jindal too);

Vermont ballot eligibility challenge, Ted Cruz Rubio and Jindal not natural born citizens,H. Brooke Paige v State of Vermont Secretary of State James Condos, Complaint filed December 9, 2015
“According to the  US Citizenship and Immigration Services Ted Cruz was not a US citizen at birth and consequently not a natural born citizen.”
Trump's comments point to the seemingly indisputable fact that if Senator Cruz won the nomination,and subsequently the presidency, during each stage his campaign would be subject to endless distraction and doubt. 

On the other hand if Cruz was the vice-presidential candidate the focus on Trump as the presidential candidate would be constantly muddled and muddied as the Democrat's would charge that "if something happened to 'Calgary Ted" then he would be an illegitimate president and the country would be thrown into chaos etc. 

These are, in my opinion, valid points if raised given the still debatable nature of Cruz's eligibility by the Supreme Court. There can be 1000 opinions in the media/Blogs and by learned academics but they don't, in the end, matter if the situation requires a Constitutional decision.

It doesn't matter if such headlines as below appear and if Trump's own statements over time are open to interpretation. All that does is make absolutely clear the situation has not been clarified and will continue on as a distraction-at least.

"Donald Trump Has Now Flip-Flopped Twice on Ted Cruz’s Eligibility"


In an unrelated matter to eligibility Trump made this statement in New Hampshire which  Don Lemon at CNN presented; 

"The day a POLITICIAN gets elected all he cares about is his next run and keeping those people happy"

Cruz is "a politician," a senator no matter how he presents himself as an outsider. As such, if the clear message of Trump's statement is applied to a possible Cruz candidacy, it seems to disqualify him.