OSKALOOSA, Iowa — Sen. Rand Paul believes that the continued questioning of Sen. Ted Cruz’s citizenship could prove to be a “potential problem” for his 2016 rival with only 24 days until the Iowa caucuses.
Huddling with reporters after a town hall on eminent domain, Paul argued that the courts are probably going to step in for this situation given that there’s never been a U.S. president born outside the country, saying that the question is “going to have to be answered.”
The Kentucky senator also said it’s an “unknown” as to how the courts would rule on the situation.
“It’s something that he has to overcome, basically. I don’t think we’ve ever had a president who was not born in the United States before, and I don’t think the courts have decided really what it means to be natural born,” Paul said. “It is a constitutional requirement. There’s been hundreds of years of statutes on what it means to be a citizen — whether it means a father is a citizen or a mother, but it’s varied over about 200 years.”
“I think there will be a court case,” Paul continued. “The Democrats have already said they will challenge his eligibility. I think Alan Grayson indicated that he’s looking at preparing a lawsuit should Cruz [win]. I don’t know if it will be a huge distraction, but it’s going to have to be answered. We’ll see.”
When pressed on whether Cruz should follow Donald Trump’s legal advice and get a “declaratory judgment,” Paul said the situation is an issue for his fellow first-term senator.
“I think it’s a potential problem for Cruz,” Paul said. “Like I’ve said, we’ve never had a president that wasn’t born in the United States. So a lot of people would have thought natural born citizen meant born in the U.S. How the courts will decide this, I think, is unknown.”
Paul’s comments come a day after he told Fox News that Cruz is certainly eligible to become the Canadian Prime Minister, given that he was born in Calgary, Alberta.
Paul currently sits at No. 6 on the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings.
