Donald Trump claims Republican rival Ted Cruz is 'ineligible' for presidency

David Gardner15 January 2016

Donald Trump has accused Republican rival Ted Cruz of not being eligible to become US president because he was born in Canada.

The gloves came off in the race for the presidential nomination as the two frontrunners traded blows less than three weeks before voters go to the polls in the first round of the state-to-state polls.

Neither candidate could land a knock-out punch at the televised Republican debate in North Charleston, North Carolina, but it was not for the want of trying.

The fragile truce between the bombastic billionaire property mogul and the sharp-tongued Texas senator that had led some pundits to speculate Trump was lining up Cruz as a potential White House running mate collapsed in a flurry of ferocious jabs over their credibility for the Oval Office.

Trump insisted there was “a big question mark” over whether Canadian-born Cruz was even eligible to serve as America’s Commander-in-Chief.

Although the senator was born in Canada, his mother is American, which legal scholars agree fits with the US Constitution’s provision that only a “natural born citizen” may be president.

“If you become the nominee, who the hell knows if you can even serve in office?” said Trump.

Cruz blasted Trump for only bringing up the matter because his poll numbers had fallen in Iowa, where the first nomination vote will be held on February 1.

“The Constitution hasn’t changed — but the poll numbers have, and I recognize that Donald is dismayed that his poll numbers are falling in Iowa,” he said.

But Trump claimed even a slight doubt could throw the election fight into chaos. “You can’t do that to the party,” he said.

Cruz - who is still marginally behind in the opinion polls - then drew his rival’s ire by criticising “New York values”, referring to Trump’s brand of conservatism reflected the more liberal leanings of the Big Apple, where he lives.

Unusually emotional, Trump hit back by reminding the audience of the city’s battle back from the trauma of 9/11.

“No place on earth could have handled that more beautifully, more humanely than New York. That was a very insulting statement that Ted made,” he said.

At times, the back-and-forth between the main contenders descended into farce. The row over Cruz’s birthplace ended with the slick-haired senator telling Trump: “I’m happy to consider naming you as V.P. and so, if you happen to be right, you can get the top job at the end of the day.’

He claimed that if his opponent’s claims about his eligibility to be president proved accurate, then Trump’s own credentials would also be suspect, as his mother was born in Scotland.

“But I was born here - big difference,” retorted Trump.

The other candidates, particularly Senator Marco Rubio and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, grew increasingly frustrated by the bickering and sought to land some blows of their own.

Trump took flack from every other candidate on the stage over his controversial call for a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States, but the tycoon remained unbowed, noting that his popularity in the country rose after announcing the plan.

As expected, all the Republican hopefuls took potshots at President Obama and the likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on a range of issues.

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