Constitutional lawyer Floyd Abrams says Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is on the right side in the argument over whether he can run for president.
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While there were pointed exchanges and raised voices at times, it was a response from Donald Trump to an attack from Cruz that quieted the North Charleston, S.C. hall.
Cruz said in the debate: “Everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro- gay-marriage, focus around money and the media”.
Cruz had mentioned that the rest of the country is aware of the values that New Yorkers have, yet those who are from NY may not be aware of what values they have all been characterized to have. Trump said to a crowd of about 500. The debate itself consisted of Trump reflecting on the various hits and opinions recently targeted towards him by significant figures from both political parties. He’s a very – he’s got an edge that’s not good. “The people of NY fought and fought and fought. So the top two guys, I think, would lose an election we can’t afford to lose”.
“If someone tells you they’re tea party, you can’t be tea party and at the same time have supported TARP”, Cruz said, using an acronym for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a controversial Wall Street bailout program.
For Cruz, who’s been answering questions about whether he’s constitutionally eligible to be president because he was born outside the United States, the discussion about Trump’s hometown gave him an opportunity to again assert his mainstream American bonafides.
In a 28-page complaint Thursday, Newton Schwartz asked the Supreme Court to decide if Cruz’s birth to an American mother and Cuban father while they lived in Calgary violates the U.S. Constitution’s “natural born citizen” requirement. Trump and Cruz are surging in the polls, in part, by successfully tapping into conservative anger about the direction of the country. At a rally in Portsmouth, N.H., he knocked Cruz for not reporting loans from Goldman Sachs and Citibank that he used to fund his 2012 Senate campaign.
Deflecting from the issue, Cruz maintains that because his mother was a USA citizen at the time of his birth, he should be considered a “natural born citizen”.
“This 229 year question has never been pled, presented to or finally decided by or resolved by the U. S. Supreme Court”, the lawsuit reads, stating, “Only the U. S. Supreme Court can finally decide, determine judicially and settle this issue now”.
Michael Long, chairman of the New York State Conservative Party, said Cruz uttered his statement inartfully, when he really meant to attack the state’s two most powerful Democrats, de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She referred this one to Trump.
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Cruz has begun to jeopardize Trump’s frontrunner status in recent weeks, and many have argued that Cruz’s performance on Thursday night will only increase his support. The campaign has rented a theater in Iowa, for the free screening on Friday.
