Count John McCain among the Ted Cruz birthers.
McCain says it’s “worth looking into” whether Ted Cruz is eligible to run for president, since the Texas senator was born in Canada.
In an interview on Phoenix CBS affiliate KFYI, McCain said the questions raised by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump over Cruz’s eligibility are legitimate.
“I think there is a question. I’m not a constitutional scholar on that, but I think it’s worth looking into. I don’t think it’s illegitimate to look into it,” McCain said.
On Thursday, Trump again hit Cruz and referenced McCain’s comments.
“It was a very wise move that Ted Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship 18 months ago. Senator John McCain is certainly no friend of Ted!,” Trump tweeted.
McCain has relished taking occasional shots at Cruz. The two have never been friendly — with McCain once describing Cruz and his allies as the Senate’s “wacko birds.”
McCain himself was born outside the U.S. mainland, in the Panama Canal Zone — a military base where his father was then stationed.
Another Arizona senator, 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater, had set the precedent when the Supreme Court ruled him a natural-born citizen and therefore eligible under the Constitution for the presidency even though he was born in pre-state Arizona when it was still a territory.
Asked if Cruz should get ahead of the issue, McCain said: “I would think so.”
“I got ahead of it on being born in the Canal Zone when I was running in 2008,” he said. “I said, ‘Look, there is a precedent set: Barry Goldwater ran for president; was born in Arizona when it was a territory.’ The Panama Canal was a territory of the United States of America.”
McCain also said he sees the Republican presidential nominating contest as far from settled.
“We live in most interesting times, and I do believe that there are going to be a lot more surprises, because every pollster I’ve talked to said there are still a lot of people who have not made up their minds,” he said.