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.”
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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.
